


A hidden language

by angelofpandas



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alpha Victor Nikiforov, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Alternate Universe - Ballet, Anxiety, Ballet Dancer Katsuki Yuuri, M/M, Omega Katsuki Yuuri, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, Vicchan Lives
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-11-05
Packaged: 2019-03-18 11:53:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 43,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13681155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelofpandas/pseuds/angelofpandas
Summary: Katsuki Yuuri had always only one dream since he was little, to become the best ballet dancer. After all his work and training for years he gets the possibility of his life. He gets the chance to play the role of Odette or the white swan in Swan Lake for the Bolshoi Ballet in St. Petersburg. He would be the first male Omega playing a major role in a prestigious ballet in Russia.…This is the story how Yuuri became a student of Lilia Baranovskaya to pursue his dreams in St. Petersburg and through some unfortunately events (and a certain someone’s bad memory) had to marry figure skater Victor Nikiforov to stay in Russia.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfiction. I hope the summary wasn't too chaotic for everyone. I swear I have an outline and know where I want to go with this work.  
> I read a lot of fanfics in the last years and always admired the people bringing their vision to live. In the last months I had this idea of a story stuck in my head. After a lot of thoughts I finally decided to post the first chapter. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.  
> Comment and Criticism is always appreciated. Sadly there won't be a consistent update schedule. I will try to post as soon as I can.
> 
> P.S. Happy Valentines Day!

Katsuki Yuuri started dancing ballet at the age of 5. He started dancing on a whim. He just saw a movie about dancing on the TV. The way the woman and men danced together in complete harmony and how much emotions these dancers could convey through their movements made Yuuri jealous. He was never good at making friends and showing emotions in such a meaningful way. Yuuri was a really shy kid which made connecting to others rather difficult. Most of the time he stayed at home and helped his parents at their inn, well as best as a 5-year-old could do. Sometimes his mother Hiroko would worry for her youngest child. It wasn't the fact that Yuuri liked helping around, after all her daughter Mari always had to help at the resort too. But for her it was an annoying chore she had to finish. Mari would rather meet her friends from school or watch tv. Yuuri on the other hand never complained helping his parents and never left the house except for going to kindergarten.

When Yuuri finally found the courage to ask his mother whether he could start to learn dancing, Hiroko was more than happy to encourage his wish. After all, Yuuri never wished for anything until this point, which is why Hiroko really wanted to fulfill it. Finally, Yuuri showed interest in something else besides working at the onsen.

"Yuu-chan, do you know what kind of dance you want to learn?"

"There are more than one kind of dance?" Yuuri said while looking confused up to his mother.

Hiroko looked surprised at her son and started giggling.

"Well, perhaps it would be best to just go to Minako-senpai." Hiroko tried to suppress her laughter better because Yuuri tried to pout which just resulted in an adorable and cute face.

Minako was the only person Hiroko knew that could dance. Hiroko met her back when she was at school herself. Minako back than was already really beautiful and a year older than her. She was somewhat of an idol at her school and had lot of admirers. One day some girls in Hiroko's class made again fun of her weight. She was like Yuuri always a little bit chubbier than others. While Hiroko was called names outside of the school building Minako was just walking beside the open window next to the scene. As the strong and admirable person Minako was, she yelled at the other girls and threatened them to leave Hiroko alone. Hiroko invited Minako to some Ramen as she was really grateful for her help, which became a thing between these two. They started to talk more often in and after school. Hiroko was one of the only people that didn’t want to become friends with Minako to get some kind of advantages. Minako would start to invite her to ballet shows she participated in. Hiroko would always come to these shows to support her good friend. One-time Minako even invite Hiroko to participate in one of her ballet classes but sadly Hiroko wasn’t as graceful and talented as her in it. By the time Minako started to travel the world to dance, Hiroko and Minako still stayed friends. Hiroko would support her friend in every way and kept track of Minako's very successful career as a professional ballet dancer. Years later as Minako moved back to Hasetsu Hiroko was very happy to see her best friend more regularly.

Yuuri was excited that his mum would let him dance. His excitement of dancing exceeded his nervousness of the prospect to meet someone he barely knew. Yuuri and Hiroko needed only to walk some minutes till they arrived at Minako's ballet studio. Hiroko just knocked on the door twice before a very enthusiastic lady with long brown hair, which was Minako-senpai as Yuuri learned later, opened the door. She looked surprised to see Hiroko standing before her with her son at her ballet studio.

After Minako moved back to Hasetsu she always met Hiroko at her onsen to drink something together. There she met for the first time Toshiya, which Hiroko married after Minako was already gone to Europe to dance there. In Minako’s opinion they both were a got match for each other. Some time after Mari was born Hiroko brought her for some time to Minako’s studio to see whether she would like it there. But Mari never showed real interest in dancing.

Which was why, when Minako opened the door wider to let Hiroko and Yuuri in, she was grinning wiedly as Hiroko rarely nowadays visit Minako at her studio. Before Minako even could mutter a thing Hiroko already started babbling happily.

"Ohayou Minako-senpai! Yuu-chan wishes to learn how to dance and I couldn't think of a better teacher for my little boy."

"Ohayou Gozaimasu!" Yuuri greeted his soon-to-be ballet instructor shyly. Yuuri saw his mother's friend last at his birthday. He didn't really talk much to her because he didn't know what to say to her back then.

"Sooo Yuuri... you want to learn how to dance?" Minako asks curious.

"Y... Yeah..." Yuuri stuttered.

"Why do you want to dance?"

"I want to show my emotions through dancing. I want to tell a story with the movement of my body." Yuuri answered serious and honest.

Minako looked surprised at the uncommon answer. She didn't expect this answer from the young boy.

Minako would always ask her new students the same question as Yuuri. Normally her student's answer to this question was different. Some would find ballet beautiful and the movements aesthetically pleasing. Some others would just be curious about ballet and wanted to try it out. There were even people that were forced by their parents to fulfill their parents’ dreams.

Seemingly satisfied by Yuuri's answer Minako smiled.

"Do you want to start dancing right away?"

Yuuri nodded enthusiastic.

Minako started the first lesson by showing Yuuri the first positions in ballet. Yuuri tried to follow her construction as closely as possible, which he not always succeeded doing. At the end of the lesson he was exhausted but happy. Yuuri asked his teacher to dance together with music for him. After all the last one and a half hour they didn’t really dance at all. Minako told him before he could really start dancing ballet he had to know all the basics by heart. She played some classical music Yuuri never heard before. Minako just smiled at him and started moving. As Yuuri saw her dancing for the first time, he fell in love with ballet completely.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A ballet dancer on ice?!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is one thing I forgot to mention last chapter:  
> The title comes partially from a quote of Martha Graham.  
> ("Dance is the hidden language of the soul.")

In the first weeks after Yuuri started learning ballet, he went to Minako-sensei's studio every day. Hiroko was delighted to see her little son being so happy and outgoing. Every time after training he would come home completely exhausted and during dinner Yuuri would only talk about ballet, his training and Minako-sensei. After eating dinner together with his family, he would always fell asleep immediately. The Katsuki household got so much livelier all of the sudden. 

One day Minako suggested to Yuuri to try out ice skating and figure skating. Yuuri on the other hand wasn't sure whether it was really a good idea or not. Yuuri never in his live went ice skating before even through Hasetsu had its own ice skating ring, which is remarkable for such a small town.

After Minako bribed Yuuri with some extra hours of ballet training, Yuuri reluctant went to Ice Castle Hasetsu on the weekend. The local ice ring wasn’t really big but it gave off a nice and homely atmosphere. Only a small amount of people was on the ice and most of them were children. From the foyer Yuuri could already hear the laughing of several children. He started to get nervous of the idea to make his first step on the ice in front of strangers especially because he would probably embarrass himself. Yuuri just started to get better with dancing and to hold the balance on the more difficult base positions in ballet. Before Yuuri could start to ponder on the different possibilities of embarrassing himself on the ice Minako stepped into the lobby. 

"Hey Yuuri, are you okay? You don't look so fine." Minako of course could clearly identify the first stage of Yuuri's occasionally emerging anxiety. 

"I really think I shouldn't go on the ice. We should just go back to the studio and I can train the saute again. My timing on the landing isn't good and I could still work on my body tension particularly on my legs." Yuuri rambled on. How was he supposed to be standing on the ice without falling if he couldn’t even balance himself during ballet lessons on solid ground. 

Minako-sensei didn't look convinced by his talk. Yet Minako was positively surprised again by Yuuri’s engagement in dancing. She still thought that the idea of Yuuri learning ice skating would be helpful for him. 

"Yuuri... Don't worry. You don't have to get out there now. We can just watch the others first. Perhaps later you want to try standing on the ice after all." Minako tried to reassure Yuuri. 

Yuuri took Minako’s hand and went to see the other people on the ice. They looked like they had the time of their life out there. “Maybe being on the ice wasn’t too bad.” Yuuri thought. 

After some time Minako could see that Yuuri started to get interested in trying it himself. “Before you can go on the ice let's get you some skates first.” She announced. 

Minako already walked to the lady that managed the desk in the front. The lady smiled nicely and greeted her like they already know each other for a long time. Yuuri wondered why Minako would go so often to the ice rink that she was on a first name basis with the employees there but he couldn’t figure that one out right now. The friendly lady on the desk had mid – long black hair and brown soft eyes. Because of her big smile she had little wrinkles around her eyes. She gave Minako some skates to her without saying anything and turned her head to Yuuri.

"And what is your shoe size?" she asked Yuuri. 

"No... No, I don't want to go on the ice." Yuuri answered quickly before Minako-sensei could say anything. He was getting really intimidated by the sharp blades under the shoes he would have to wear to even stand on the ice. 

"Oh! So, are you here to just observe Minako-san?" the lady replied amused.

"Actually, Yuuri is here to get his first lesson of skating by Nishigori-san." Minako said amused. Yuuri never heard of that part of the deal beforehand. He looked questioningly to Minako.

"So, he is the newest student for my husband? He told how happy he is to have another student beside our Takeshi and Yuu-chan. There are still not many children that want to learn ice skating more professionally from my husband. It's such a shame. Well, we should be happy that even some people are coming to the rink." Nishigori-san sighed. 

"You see Yuuri. I booked you a lesson with Nishigori-san's husband. He already teaches two children close to your age and they are also just beginners, even when they started to skate a little bit earlier than you. Nobody else will be on the ice because the ring is closed for the training lessons. So, you really don't need to worry about embarrassing yourself out there. Also, I will be there the whole time too." Minako reassured Yuuri. 

Yuuri started to nod slowly and he remembered that after all he promised Minako to at least try it. He gave Nishigori-san his shoe size and with the help of Minako he put on the skates. 

Before the official lesson started Yuuri got the chance to do his first steps on the ice while holding Minako's hand with nobody watching. The feeling of standing on the ice was weird at first. His legs felt wobbly and he was afraid of letting go of Minako’s hand. After a while Yuuri felt more stable on the ice but he was not ready to move away from the railing. 

By the time Yuuri finally let go of the railing, he still had to hold onto Minako for stability, the other children came in. The girl with a brown colored ponytail was a little taller and probably little older than Yuuri. When she saw the two new faces she became really excited. The boy with dark hair on the other side didn't look as happy as her at the sight of a new person skating with them. The boy, which had to be the son of Nishigori-san, which she mentioned earlier, went slowly to the stands to put on his skates. 

When Nishigori-san's son was standing on the ice the little girl, which introduced herself as Yuuko or Yuu-chan as everybody called her, was already enthusiastically talking about ice skating and how happy she was to get another ring mate beside Takeshi, as he wasn't as enthused by ice skating as her. He only learned how to skate because it was the favorite activity of his parents and they owned the ring after all. Yuuko's excitement prompted Yuuri into skating a small distance on the ice on his own and letting go of Minako's hand. Also, Yuuri wanted to show that he wasn’t afraid of the ice, which he wasn’t. He was actually scared of falling on the ice and hurting himself quite badly. 

As Takeshi finally joined them he pushed Yuuri onto the ice and looked at him disapproving. "Stay out of the way, fatso!" Takeshi said flippant. He didn’t like to share Yuuko’s attention with another person, especially a sweet and cute boy. 

"Takeshi-kun, don't be mean to the new kid!" Yuuko protected Yuuri. 

Takeshi started to call Yuuri names but Yuuko told him off. Yuuri never experienced that someone he met actually would help him. From that moment on he knew that him and Yuuko would become good friends. He also knew that the ice skating lessons couldn't be as bad as he previously thought, because falling on the ice didn’t hurt that bad. 

And he was right. The ice skating lesson was actual a lot of fun for Yuuri. Ice skating would never become his number one passion, that would always be ballet, but ice skating would be close second. He could see himself using ice skating as a tool to clear his mind and to relax.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> saute - a basic jump in ballet, you have to jump off of both feet at the same time and land on both feet at the same time
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you for reading my work.  
> I never actually thought anybody would read it. I am basically just writing for myself and it's just the kind of story I would see myself enjoying. So thanks again.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone has to grow up one day...

At the age of fourteen Yuuri didn't just want to dance ballet for fun. He wanted to dance professionally. He knew most dancer had only a limited time to dance on a big stage. In return Yuuri became even more determined to dance. 

Every day Yuuri jogged before school to stay in shape. A ballet dancer couldn't exceed a certain weight, which was really hard for Yuuri as he easily gained weight quickly. The worst thing about keeping his weight in check was that he had to deny himself from eating his favourite Katsudon. But it was worth it in his opinion. Yuuri could see his improvement after 7 years on the dance floor. He wasn't the little piggy Takeshi made fun of all these years ago. 

After school most of his time Yuuri spent at Minako's ballet studio. He spent more time there than at home but his parents were his biggest supporters. They let him go to Minako's studio even later in the evening but only when Minako or Mari would walk him home afterwards. 

In the last years Yuuri was trained by Minako in classical ballet, especially in the sytle of Russian ballet. Minako danced for a little while in Russia under a prima ballerina there. Yuuri only profited from the experience Minako gained there. Minako-senpai was trained under the Vaganova method, which she tried to implement into Yuuri’s training as well. Even though she couldn’t offer him every aspect of a fully complete professional ballet training, she did her best. Sadly, Yuuri could never experience a pas de deux because nobody of her very limited students were on the same level Yuuri already was. None her students were even closely as passionate as Yuuri was. But there were other disciplines of the Vaganova method, she could teach him in. She taught him in other styles of dancing, like interpretive and ballroom dance. Also, Minako told him everything she knew about music and choreography. Minako tried her best to always be supportive of Yuuri’s dream. 

Yuuri still loved training more than anything else. But sometimes with Minako's strict teaching Yuuri needed to clear his head. For that purpose, Yuuri always went to Ice Castle Hasetsu. Even if Yuuri never wanted to ice skate professionally he still went to the Nishigori-san's skating lessons. They even let him coming in on other times than the official lessons. 

Yuuri showed some talent in ice skating and figure skating but it never brought him as much fun as ballet. But it helped Yuuri relax and getting his head clear. After some time, he became good friends with Yuuko and even Takeshi. Ice castle became his little hideaway from everything, even ballet. 

One day Yuuri stayed till the late evenings at Minako's ballet studio. He had the bad habit of overtraining sometimes. Minako always had to closely monitor the number of hours he spent with dancing. He had the tendency to get carried away with his training. He just forgot the time during dancing as he devoted himself to the music. This time Minako couldn’t stay and overlook his later training hours.

She had to leave Yuuri more often alone in the later parts of the day. Sadly, Minako got less people going to her studio, which isn't only because of the shrinking of the population of Hasetsu. It seemed that more and more people lost the interest in learning to dance ballet. 

As a consequence, Minako had to open up the Kachu Snack Bar, where she would serve drinks and other stuff. With the bar Minako could pay the rent for her appartment and the ballet studio. This way the little people that came for her dance courses wouldn't have to stop coming by and search for a different ballet course outside of Hasetsu. After all, Minako's studio was the only one in Hasetsu. It wasn't propably the best idea of Minako to start her buisness in such a small town as Hasetsu but she wanted to give something back to her old hometown in which she grew up to be the person she nowadays was. 

When Minako had to leave early, Mari always had to come and collect Yuuri from his lessons. Mari was already 18 and a grown-up, as she always emphasized to their parents if they wanted to prohibit her from doing stuff. Mari was also very independent but never complained when she had to look after her little brother Yuuri who she loved very much. Some years ago, she presented as an Alpha which came somewhat as a surprise for everyone in the Katsuki family. On one hand nobody ever suspected that a Beta couple would birth anything else than another Beta but on the other hand Mari’s outgoing and confident personality hinted to her secondary gender already. 

This time Mari told Yuuri that she couldn’t come to pick him up for next week. She asked him to go with Minako but Yuuri just forgot to tell that to Minako, which meant he was all alone in the studio. Yuuri danced till he couldn’t feel his feet anymore. While he danced he completely missed the time. It was already after 10 pm, which is later than he normally would be allowed to still be in Minako’s studio. He was really tired and wondered when Mari was supposed to come and take home. 

As Yuuri remembered his big sister wasn’t coming, he packed up his stuff really quickly and locked up the ballet studio with the spare key he got from Minako. He didn’t even change out of his workout clothes. When Yuuri stepped outside he could feel the cold very fiercely through his thin clothes. This motivated him even more to hurry home, the other reason being his worried family. Running was very hard for Yuuri as his legs hurt from the excessive training that day. 

He slowed down as he walked down a small alley. He was out of breath. He strolled through the dark street which was only illuminated by two streetlamps. All shops in the alleyway were closed. The light showed the smoke that was Yuuri’s breath which were visible by the ice-cold weather. The first snowflakes were falling down to the earth. Yuuri was fascinated for a little while by the show of snow twinkling in the light. It was beautiful. 

After watching the snow Yuuri recalled his plan of hurrying home, but suddenly he could feel a very intense stab in his organs. The pain went away as quickly as it arrived. He didn’t think about it that much. He just wanted to hurry back home. So, he continued his walk back. 

He wasn’t able to walk much. After only some steps further down the street, the pain started to appear again. Now the stabs were so much harder and extreme than before. The pain forced him to fall on his knees. He never felt such distress before in his life. The pain made it hard to focus on anything else. However, between the stabs in his organs Yuuri had some time to think. How was he supposed to move anywhere? Could he call for help and would anybody come in this abandoned street? And most importantly why was he feeling such an immense amount of pain?

Between the pain and his incoherent thoughts, a smell started to fill his nose. The smell was lovely. It smelled flowery, like roses, mixed with the smell of falling snow. As the smell hit Yuuri completely he knew what was going on. He remembered the lessons on secondary genders in his health classes back in school. 

When an Omega first presents, they will feel a high amount of pain. The pain comes from the fact that the body of the Omega changes significantly. It becomes possible to bear children. For that possibility the reproductive system has to change and develop fully. The first heat of an Omega is less about getting immediately pregnant and more about the process of maturing. The following heats until the Omega gets pregnant are like the stereotypically stories about the sex craved and horny Omega. The intensity of the heat changes from Omega to Omega. Every Omega experience their heat differently. During the first heat the smell of an Omega changes as well, to indicate the readiness of the Omega towards possible mates. 

Yuuri was presenting and he instinctively knew that he wasn’t safe in the abandoned street. All he wanted was to be home in his bed which he could rearrange into a beautiful and comfortable nest. He also missed his mother. Her presence would certainly soothe him better than anybody else. 

Wrested from his thoughts, Yuuri could hear someone nearing. He was getting scarred. Everybody knew about the stories of Alphas who couldn’t hold back because of the smell of an Omega in heat. He didn’t want to just be another horrifying story about abuse of Omegas. Yuuri tried again to stand up but failed miserably. His legs were shaking too much. All he could do was crawling to a darker spot in the alley and hope that the person couldn’t see him and wouldn’t bother to search for the Omega harder. As the steps were coming closer and louder, he could hear someone calling out his name. He would always recognize that voice. His big sister was searching for him! Being relieved Yuuri crawled out of his hiding spot and quietly said her name. Once Mari stood before him her face was at ease. Immediately as Mari could smell Yuuri, she was beginning to worry again. 

“Yuuri, you are presenting! We have to take you home straightaway. Can you stand?” Mari questioned.

“No, it hurt too much.” Yuuri answered quitely. 

Mari sighed and carried his bag and Yuuri in her arms back home. Yuuri just clutched to her. He felt better in the arms of his sister. Her smell calmed him so much. As his sister, her smell never threatened him in any way even though she was an Alpha. 

Back at home his mother was worried sick. She called everybody she knew to ask whether they had seen Yuuri somewhere. She even called Minako to ask if Yuuri was perhaps still training at her studio together with her. While Hiroko cleared the mistake between them she started to worry even more. She hoped by now Mari already found Yuuri. Hiroko walked up and down in the lobby while she tried not to panic. 

When Mari came home together with Yuuri, Hiroko almost wanted to start crying of relieve. But once she saw in what state Yuuri came back, her heart sinked a little bit. In her head bad thoughts about the scenarios if Mari wouldn’t have found him started. But Hiroko couldn’t dwell on the what ifs, her little boy needed her help now. 

“Mari-chan could you carry Yuu-chan to his room?” she asked her daughter. 

Mari carried Yuuri to his bedroom. Meanwhile Hiroko prepared some towels and water for Yuuri. The next days she had to prepare some light meals. Anything heavy to eat Yuuri wouldn’t be able to hold down. She wished she could magically release her little boy from the pain and overall bad experiences the next day would bring him. 

In his bed Yuuri started to build his nest. Whem the nest was finished his mind finally found rest. He was safe at home in his nest. Here he could safely spend his heat the next 5 days. He knew these days were going to be the most intense days in his short life. 

Almost a week later Yuuri eventually woke up and couldn’t feel any effects of his heat. It was finally over. When he stood up from his bed his legs were wobbly. Slowly he headed to his window. The whole room reeked of his heat and pain. He opened the window and hoped that with the disappearance of the smell his memories of his first heat would disappear as well. 

He stripped down his bed from the tarnished sheets and brought them downstairs. Afterwards he went to bath himself in the onsen. Before he could step in, he cleaned himself from the old sweat. When he was clean his own scent became more prominent. He could smell the roses and falling snow more clearly on himself. 

As he finally stepped into the onsen he abandoned his thoughts. He knew his life would change dramatically after his heat. He just wasn’t sure if the changes were going to be good or bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pas de deux - dance duet, typically male and female but same sex duets are also possible  
> Vaganova method - a training system invented in Russia for ballet, mostly used in Russia ballet schools but can also be found in Europe and North America  
> The major element in this method is the pas de deux, students have to show their improvements through a grand pas de deux. The method also believes in teaching their students more than just ballet. 
> 
>  
> 
> If you are more interested in this I would invite you to research more yourself. :) It is very interesting.  
> Most infos about dancing is and will be in the future from the internet as I am not a ballet dancer myself, even though I wish I could dance ballet. 
> 
>  
> 
> Last but not least the idea of how heats work in this universe comes from different fanfics I read. Most prominently from the story "Dearly Beloved" from Sophia96. If you haven't read it yourself I highly recommend it. It is so adorable!  
> My story afterall is very inspired by the many good times I had myself while I was reading the stories of other people.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> an offer that nobody could refuse.

One day Minako was very excited when Yuuri came to his usual ballet lessons. She had very thrilling news for Yuuri and his future. At the age of 16 Yuuri still dreamed of becoming a real ballet dancer.

After he presented as an Omega, people started to talk behind his back even more. Before his presentation the gossip surrounding him was always questioning where his motivation came from for dancing ballet. People thought that he was probably gay, after all ballet was considered a female activity. Now as an Omega people understood his interest in ballet as it was considered as something that only females or Omegas in general where interested in, but mostly female Betas and the occasionally male Beta could really succeed in. It was never heard of an Alpha or Omega actually being on a professional level in ballet. Alphas were supposed to be in manlier and more important occupations. Omegas on the other hand should just stay at home and wait to find a mate and prepare for children. Hasetsu was a small city with residents that had still a very traditional mindset.

All this talk made Yuuri insecure of his dreams and the possibilty of accomplishing his goals. Yuuri thought that perhaps the people of Hasetsu were right. There never in the history of ballet were an Omega dancer that became somehow famous in their industry. Even Minako was a female Beta, which corresponds to the usual demographic group of ballet dancers. Why would he be special? An Omega as the prima ballerina of a classical ballet company was absurd.

For a while Yuuri believed that all his efforts were fruitless, which resulted in Yuuri losing his motivation in real training. Minako of course, who knew Yuuri very well, could clearly see the uninspired movements in his dance during training.

"What do you think you are doing here?" Minako asked frustrated.

"I am dancing." Yuuri said confused.

"That's not dancing, Yuuri. You are just going through the motions at this point. Where is the story? Where are the emotions? Just stop for now. What's going through your mind? And don't tell me "it's nothing". I know you better than you think." Minako said sternly.

Yuuri sighed. He knew that he couldn't lie to her, because she could read him better than anybody else. Sometimes he found it scary how well Minako knew him.

"I... I... Do you think I can ever be a real ballet dancer and can dance in a well-known ballet company even as an Omega?" Yuuri wondered shyly. There was no way around the truth for him.

Minako looked bewildered at him. She didn't know why Yuuri would question his future right now. Minako was familiar with Yuuri's anxiety and his problems of insecurities regarding his skills in ballet. Minako noticed that Yuuri always thought that he was the worst and not worth her time. But she never knew he was insecure about being an Omega. This was new for her.

"Yuuri you have talent and you even placed third in a national competition last year. I mean the two girls ranked before you were older and had a little bit more experience than yourself. But after all you were better than all the other partakers of the competition with different backgrounds. Under these were a lot of Betas, don’t you think?  
Yuuri, you know I would never lie about this. If you want to make it in ballet, it’s going to be very hard. There are still a lot of stereotypes about Omegas. It is very possible that some people don’t want to work with you just because of the fact that you are an Omega. You have to train harder than anybody else. You have to show that you are better than any of the other dancers.  
I honestly think you are talented. You have the right mindset and good work ethics. If you really believe this path is the right one for you than you can make it." Minako said convincingly.

"But Minako-senpai... But there are not many male dancers and particularly not male Omegas in ballet." Yuuri responded unconfident.

"Did somebody talk to you about your "unrealistic" dreams? Yuuri these people aren't right. You can't listen to them. They don't know you and they don't know anything about ballet.  
Yes, it is true that there were never a male Omega as a prima ballerina in a well-known company. But there is always a first for everything. Yuuri, you just have to be brave and hard working. And once you are the best nobody can ignore you or make up an excuse to deny you. You have to make yourself indispensable. It will be hard but if that is what you really want than the hard work will be worth it once you will be dancing on a big stage." Minako stated.

"Minako-sensei, thank you...and I'm..." Yuuri said while tearing up a little bit. He was just very happy that he had someone like Minako in his life. He knew she would never lie to him about something important.

"Don't apologize Yuuri-kun. Sometimes I know you better than yourself. If you ever doubt yourself again, just talk to me. You trust me and my judgements, right?" Minako said with conviction.

From that time on Yuuri’s doubts wouldn’t magically disappear but he just had to remind himself of her words and he would always feel better. Her speech gave him the strength to work hard even on the worst and most stressful days. He found inspiration and new determination in there as well.

On this particular day that would change Yuuri’s life for the better, Minako was already waiting for Yuuri in front of her ballet studio. He could see her excitement in her posture even from far away. As he arrived at her studio, Minako were rushing him quickly inside.

"Yuuri...I just got a call from my friend and a fellow ballet dancer, who now has her own ballet studio. She was one of the best prima ballerinas I ever seen when she was still dancing on the big stage. She now teaches children and young adults. A lot of her former students dances in big and well-known ballet companies. Some of them even became prima ballerinas. She told me she is interested to teach and help you. This is a huge opportunity. Do you understand this? This could be your first big step into a carrier in ballet.” Minako revealed urgently.

This surprising information were a little bit too much for Yuuri to comprehend entirely at the moment. Slowly he sat down on the floor and tried to reconsider everything. Minako-sensei’s friend seemed to be very capable if Minako praised her so much. It really appeared to be a massive opportunity to train under such a person. Yuuri was sure that before he decided what to do, he should ask Minako every question he still had.

“So, I would get a new coach? How does she even know about me? Did you talk with her about me? Where does she life? Do I have to take the train to get to the new studio, after all your place is the only ballet studio in Hasetsu? Can I still come to your studio as well?” Yuuri asked.

Minako knew that there were going to be a lot of questions from Yuuri once they talked about it. She dreaded to talk about certain parts of the deal. She knew if Yuuri were to choose to train under her friend he had to sacrifice a lot at such a young age. But she believed that Yuuri was already mature enough to overcome the next obstacles in his life.

“Well, her name is Lilia Baranovskaya. She lives in St. Petersburg. We sadly don’t have too much contact anymore but sometimes we talk over the phone. In one of these phone calls I told her about you, how passionate you are about ballet and how I think you have a lot of talent. As she listened to me praising you all the time, she became intrigued by you. So, I sent her a tape of your last performance. When she saw you dancing she absolutely wanted to teach you and help you grow into an amazing danseur.  
With her living in Russia and her own students it is hard for her to come over, which is why she came up with the idea of you starting to train under her. For that you would have to move from Japan to St. Petersburg but she said she would help you find a place to stay and she knows people who could teach you Russian. Luckily you speak English so you two should be able to communicate with each other. I already talked with her about schools. There are international schools where you could finish your high school degree.  
I know if you will decide to move away this can be very scary. Being away from your family and friends in your age to move abroad isn’t normal in Japan but Lilia has a lot more connections to ballet companies than me. She knows people in the business which would make it easier for you later on.” Minako explained the situation further.

Yuuri was stunned. He didn’t know what to think about the fact that Minako talked about him to other ballet dancers. She even praised him in front of others! Yuuri was so happy about it, he started to smile widely.

When Minako saw Yuuri smiling she was positively surprised. She didn’t think Yuuri would really consider moving to St. Petersburg to train ballet. Slowly she lowered herself to the floor in front of him.

“So, you really think it would be good for you to be with Lilia-san? Oh Yuuri, I am so relieved that you even take this option into consideration. To tell the truth I really thought you would be more anxious to leave your home and family. But I know that they will all be there for you no matter what. You could call your family, friends and me whenever you want. If you move away you will not disappear from our thoughts. Nobody is going to forget you. We all love you very much, Yuuri.” Minako confessed with ease.

“Minako-sensei, you brag about me to other dancers?!” Yuuri exclaimed while grinning at her.

“Oh Yuuri… Is that all you got from the stuff I just told you? And you shouldn’t be so surprised by that. You know I believe in you and your dream. I will always support you and I want what is best for you. I also am very proud of you and your accomplishments.” Minako said while smiling kindly. She put her arms around Yuuri and pulled him closer to her. Yuuri let his head fall onto her shoulder. They stayed that way for a long time.

“Do you really think moving to St. Petersburg and training under Lilia-san is the best for me? Do you really think I can move there on my own? Can I really stay in an unknown country and city by myself? Can’t I just stay here at home and keep training with you, Minako-sensei?” Yuuri whispered. He couldn’t bring himself to ask these questions loudly. It would make the whole scenario even more real than it already was. He was barely loud enough so that Minako could hear him.

“Yuuri, if you doubt your capabilities of living on your own, nobody is going to force you to take Lilia-san’s offer. Of course, you can stay here in Hasetsu and train with me. But if you want to fulfill your dream, you should know that sooner or later you have to leave your hometown. There is no way you can become a professional danseur here. I just think that Lilia-san’s proposal is a once in a lifetime opportunity for you. I don’t want you to regret not taking it in the future.” Minako told him honestly her own opinion.

Yuuri sighed deeply.

“Deep down in my heart I know I can’t stay in Hasetsu forever. When I was little and okaasan told me your stories about the time you travelled through Europe to dance they seemed like a fairytale. And now you are telling me I could do the same. It’s just so crazy.” Yuuri admitted.

He looked up and looked directly into Minako’s eyes. All he could see was love and determination in her eyes. If she thought he could do it, he knew he really could. With new found confidence, Yuuri spoke.

“I want to do it. I want to train with your friend, Lilia-san.”

“Good. Then I will talk with her about the great news and you should talk with your parents about your plans.” Minako smiled widely.

“What?! You didn’t talk with my parents about this first?” Yuuri said agitated.

“No, this is something you should tell them yourself. If you want I can come with you as encouragement. But you should show them your dedication in person.”

Yuuri didn’t look forward to this talk with his family. He didn’t know how they would react to his news. Would they ruin his plans to move to St. Petersburg?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wish everybody had a friend like Minako in their life...


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> important talks, changes and melancholia

Yuuri knew he should have hurried home immediately after the long talk with Minako to tell his parents about the exciting news of moving to Russia for a more professional training in ballet. He hoped they would be as happy and excited as he was by the idea. On the other hand, he dreaded the talk. How could his family let him be on his own in a foreign country? After all he just turned 16. 

To avoid everything Yuuri stayed at Minako’s studio. She let him use the music player. He turned on some random radio station. He didn’t care what was playing, which is why he softened the volume. He just didn’t want to be alone with his thoughts. With the music playing quietly in the background he changed into his training clothes. 

He started to stretch so that he wouldn’t get hurt. Even if he wasn’t going to really train today he still knew how important it was to not just start dancing. When he felt ready he just started to randomly move in the room and feel the music flow through him. He could feel the quite music took over the movement of his body. He started to get lost in the music and the motions. 

He danced so long that he could feel all his frustration leaving his body. As a result, his mind became clearer. He now knew there was no way that his parents would let him move to St. Petersburg by himself. He was a male Omega. He couldn’t live in a foreign city without protection. He didn’t know anybody there. Anything could happen. Even here in Hasetsu he wasn’t allowed to be out in the late evening or night without company and he knew Hasetsu and the people here. And what was he supposed to do with his anxiety all alone? Here at home he knew what to do when he could feel his anxiety trying to overtake his body. He had his mother and here calming scent. He had his nest in his room where he could hide if he needed to. He could go to Minako’s studio whenever he could to let his emotions out. There was Ice castle Hasetsu, where the coldness of the ice would always calm him better than anything else. In Russia he would be completely alone, no family and no friends. 

Why did he think accepting the offer was a good idea again? Yuuri’s started to tear up. Before the tears could fall down on his cheek, he quickly rubbed his eyes. A while ago the music changed into something happier and livelier. When he focused more on the music he could feel his body almost vibrating by it. His body wanted to keep dancing. He knew, he couldn’t stop dancing. He started to make several pirouettes in a row. Yuuri always felt joy while spinning around himself. He just stopped turning before his stomach would feel unwell. He felt dizzy and the room started to spin when he already stopped his motion. He had to lay down. While the world around looked blurry and chaotic, he was completely calm. 

This feeling of dancing, Yuuri knew he could never get enough of it. He had to talk to his parents. Perhaps together with them he could find a solution. He didn’t want and couldn’t let go of his dream. It was too important for him. 

As he stood up he went to the music player and turned it off. He changed into his regular clothes again and drank from his water bottle until it was empty. With new found resolution he searched for Minako. 

She already left the studio. She was in her bar and cleaning the counter and the glasses there. She made sure that the bar looked fine before she could open it for the night. Yuuri went inside. Minako saw him coming in and immediately talked to him. 

“Are you done for today? Do you need me to take you home?” 

“Yes, I am ready. Could you please come home with me, Minako-sensei? I want to talk about the stuff with Lilia-san today. I could need your support.” Yuuri expressed with determination. 

Minako just nodded and went outside with him. She closed the Kachu Snack Bar for today. She knew the talk would take some time and all of her attention. There was no way she would leave Yuuri in the middle of all that for her bar. 

Slowly Yuuri and Minako walked to Yu-topia. They both walked in a tense silent. Nobody wanted to talk. They both had to speak enough later on. 

As they arrived at Yu-topia, Hiroko welcomed them both inside. She was surprised to see her son come home so early. Normally he would still stay some hours training. More surprisingly, Minako wasn’t supposed to escort Yuuri home today. Minako-senpai needed to work in her bar for the whole week at night. She needed the extra money. Mari was scheduled to walk Yuuri home. Both also looked rather apprehensive in contrast to their cheerful selves. But Hiroko knew the right thing to cheer both up. 

“Come on, you two. How about you go to the dining room and make yourselves comfortable. I will bring you two something delicious to eat, okay?” Hiroko said with a warm smile. 

Before Hiroko could disappear into the kitchen to cook, Yuuri interrupted her. 

“Okaasan, could you please go with Minako-sensei into the dining room while I search for otousan and Mari-nee-chan. There is something important I want to talk about with all off you present.” 

Before Hiroko could ask Yuuri anything, he already began searching for his father and his big sister. She looked at Minako-senpai, but she didn’t seem like she would answer any of her questions either. Reluctantly she went with Minako to the dining room and sat down at a table there. 

When the whole Katsuki family and Minako sat in the dining room together, Yuuri started to recount the news Minako gave him earlier. While speaking he closely watched the faces of his family members to see any changes in them. His family members gave him their attention and looked rather observant. After he finished his story he looked around again. He could clearly see the surprise in his parents faces now, but there was definitely something else as well. It seemed like they were proud their son was even given such a huge chance. In his sisters face he could see a completely different emotion. She looked worried at Yuuri. It seemed as if she didn’t take the news so well. 

“Yuuri, you can’t move to Russia by yourself. You are way too young to make such an important decision!” Mari exclaimed. 

“But Mari-nee-chan! This is important for me. Minako-sensei said that this could be the first big step into the life of a real ballet dancer, which is all I ever wanted to be.” Yuuri desperately wanted his big sister to understand him. 

“No, Yuuri how are you supposed to live alone? You are still just a kid. Okaasan, please tell Yuuri he can’t just leave Hasetsu like this!” Mari pleaded. 

Hiroko sighed. She could understand her oldest daughter very good but she could also understand her little boy. 

“Mari-chan, please calm down! I know Yuu-chan is still very young. But the first time I saw him dance, I knew he felt completely in love with it. And when I saw Yuu-chan on stage the first time I knew that Hasetsu was never going to be enough for him. I always dreaded the moment Yuuri would want to leave our home and to be honest I just never thought it would be so soon.” Hiroko spoke her mind. 

Hiroko looked in Yuuri’s eyes and took his hands. 

“If this is really what you want, you should do it. I don’t want to stand between you and your dream, Yuu-chan. But you should know that it is going to be hard. Thankfully your father and I saved some money for problematic times. We can use that money to help you out financially when you move out for some time. We will always be there for you.” 

Yuuri looked at his mother. Because of her words he started to tear up. 

“Okaasan… I don’t know what to say. Thank you for believing in me.” Yuuri spoke with a shaky voice. He hugged her tightly. His father just looked happily at his wife and son and smiled warmly. 

Mari couldn’t understand her mother and stood up from the table to leave the room, which made the whole Katsuki family watch her leave. Yuuri slowly stood up to follow his sister. 

“I am going to talk to her for a bit, okay?” Yuuri asked.

“No problem, Yuu-chan. Your father and I are going to talk with Minako-senpai about your future.” Hiroko smiled. She knew her son and her daughter needed to talk alone for a while. 

“Mari-nee-chan, wait” Yuuri called for his sister. 

Mari went already out through the front door. Once she was outside she took one cigarette out of its box and lighted it. She took one deep drag from her cigarette and exhaled it. She then turned around slowly to see that her little brother had follow her outside. 

“Yuuri, you are a young male Omega. You can’t live on your own in a foreign city. Everything could happen to you. You know these stories as well. It is way too dangerous for you out there by yourself.” Mari repeated her previous arguments. It didn’t seem like she would falter from her position. But there was something different Yuuri was interested in asking her. 

“What is really going on? Why are you so upset?” Yuuri asked. 

Mari looked closer at her little brother. Right in this moment he looked at her with so much determination that she knew it wouldn’t make sense to even try to lie to him. Mari sighed. 

“It’s just…“ Mari started but she didn’t actually knew where she was going with it herself. 

“Okaasan and otousan seemed to always knew that you were going to leave somewhere in the future and they both just accepted it. But I… I just never thought about that. I always thought you were going to stay here with us forever. In my imagination you could become happy here and I could protect you from everything bad in the world. I know that the Alpha in me talks here but on the other hand you will always be my little brother that little boy that hold my hand tightly and hid behind me when somebody wanted to make fun of you. I just want to see you smile.  
Now I just feel silly for these thoughts because our parents are right. You could never find complete happiness here. Your dreams are bigger than our hometown, they are even bigger than yourself. I want to support you in every way even if that means I have to let you go on your own.” 

Yuuri looked stunned at his big sister. She looked somewhat lost when she finally put her true feelings into words. He hugged her tightly, because he didn’t really know what to answer. He was just so thankful to have such a wonderful sister. 

“Thank you Mari-nee. I love you.” Yuuri whispered. 

“I love you, too. You have to call at least once a week. Whenever you feel like it’s too much for you or if you shouldn’t like it there at all you can always come back. You don’t have to feel bad for it or like a loser. Most people don’t even try such a brave thing like you do.” Mari said while trying to withhold her tears. 

Yuuri just nodded. 

“You should go back inside otherwise our parents and Minako are going to plan your whole future without you.” Mari said and tried to push Yuuri back inside. He reluctantly moved back inside. She watched him closely go away. Mari didn’t know when exactly her little brother started to grow up so fast. When he hugged her, he was only a head smaller than her. Soon he would be all grown up and be independent. How did she miss that and what was she going to miss when he moved away? 

 

Three months after Yuuri got the opportunity to further his ballet training in St. Petersburg, it was time to bid his family and friends in Hasetsu farewell. He already packed his suitcase with the help of his mother. His mother looked over his shoulder so that Yuuri wouldn't forget anything essential here in Japan. The process was rather chaotic, but how was he supposed to pack his whole life into only one big suitcase. 

In the three months after Yuuri could convince his parents to let him train under Lilia-san, a lot has changed for Yuuri. First, his parents had to talk to his teachers and the school, that Yuuri wouldn’t attend school anymore after this school year. His school explained their worries about Yuuri not finishing his school degree in Japan, but after several talks they stood behind his decision. 

Yuuri’s teachers gave him special extra exercises. They didn’t want him to fall behind in the new school in Russia. His English teacher even met up with him for an hour after school to practice his usage of the language. 

At his last day in school, Yuuri said goodbye to his classmates. He never really made friends in his class, which made the process of saying goodbye kind of easier on him. He still felt nostalgic knowing he would never walk around the halls of his school ever again. 

Some of Yuuri’s classmates were very surprised to hear Yuuri were going to move to Russia for his dance training. They didn’t know he was so talented. Most of his classmates wished him good luck for his future and were happy for him. Somehow Yuuri was sad he didn’t try harder to get his classmates to know better and now he would never get the chance again. 

In his last three months in Hasetsu Yuuri often visited Ice castle and his friends Yuuko and Takeshi. Yuuko was training hard to become a good figure skater. After all she was the best female skater in the rink and gained the nickname “Madonna”. He still admired Yuuko a lot for her dedication. Some years ago, Yuuko and Takeshi even started dating each other. Yuuri always saw that coming. Even though the two were childhood friends and were sometimes fighting, Yuuri knew that they both loved each other already when they were younger. 

Yuuko and Takeshi were happy and sad at the same time after hearing the news from Yuuri personally. Of course, they wished only the best for their good friend but they knew they were going to miss him very much. 

Yuuri felt bad. He was aware of the fact that he sometimes neglected their friendship to train more. He didn’t feel like a very good friend to them. At least in the last three months he had here in Hasetsu he wanted to change that. 

In the past Yuuri and Yuuko would often try to replicate the programs of famous figure skaters Yuuko liked. Mostly they copied an Russian prodigy called Victor Nikiforov. One day Yuuko showed him several programs of him and Yuuri admired his technique and his beautiful programs. They both idolized him and sometimes would try to stay up late to see him compete live, which not always worked. 

Nowadays with Yuuko being a figure skater herself, even if she just competed in national competitions, they didn’t copy Victor as much as they used to. But for the last remaining months of Yuuri being here in Hasetsu they started that tradition again. Yuuri of course would downgrade all jumps to simple or just doubles, as he didn’t want to get hurt in anyway. An injury would completely destroy his plans and dreams. 

Most of the time all three friends would just talk about their plans of the future. They promised that no matter what happened in their life they would find time for each other. 

Yuuri also would frequently visit Minako’s studio. He wanted to enjoy the last times he was able to dance freely in her studio together with his teacher. In the last days before his departure Minako wasn’t as strict as she normally would be. The two would just find joy in dancing together. Minako also started to talk a lot about her experience in Europe to prepare Yuuri for his new life. She even gave him new ballet shoes as a present. Yuuri knew he would treasure these shoes forever. 

Yuuri felt bad for leaving his family for his training in Russia. In the last three month he also tried to spent as much time as he could with them. Which resulted in mostly working alongside them in the inn. Even through it was just work, he had fun helping his parents and sister. 

Overall Yuuri’s last three months in Japan was overfilled with different activities but he still managed to do everything. With his busy plans the months passed by too fast. 

The day of his departure was a bittersweet moment for Yuuri. For lunch his mother cooked his favorite meal Katsudon. The whole Katsuki family eat together with Minako, who came over to visit them. They just talked about silly and not important things. This way they enjoyed the last meal together. Yuuri knew he wouldn’t get to eat his mother’s Katsudon for a while. 

After lunch Yuuko and Takeshi came over to say goodbye to Yuuri. They hugged each other and even some tears were falling on Yuuko’s and Takeshi’s side. They stayed until Yuuri got in Minako’s car. She was going to drive him and Mari to the airport. 

His parents couldn’t leave the inn. They had to keep it open, especially now when they wanted to support Yuuri financially as well. Before he left they wanted to give him something as a farewell gift, because they wanted Yuuri to never forget his home, even when that was never possible for him. 

His father brought something small and fluffy to the Minako’s car. Yuuri’s eyes widen as he saw the small poodle in his father’s arm. 

“We thought that if you would ever feel anxious in Russia this little fellow could help you and keep you company, as we aren’t going to be there with you.” Hiroko explained to Yuuri. 

“Thank you…” Yuuri said. With shaking hands, he reached for the little puppy to hold him for the first time. He smiled as the little one started to lick his face. 

“Aww he is so cute, Yuuri! What are you going to call him?” Yuuko spoke excited. 

Yuuri looked at the poodle and immediately knew a name for his new companion. 

“Victor” 

Takeshi started to laugh at the name and Yuuko just smiled. 

“Okaasan, can I really take him with me?” Yuuri asked. 

“Of course. We already settled everything with the airline and your home in Russia also allows pets. So, don’t worry.” Hiroko eased his mind. 

Yuuri gave Victor to his sister to hug his parents tightly. He said goodbye to them and promised to call immediately when he landed in Russia. He took Victor back in his arms and put on his leash. 

On the drive to the airport Yuuri distracted himself with playing with his new dog. As they arrived Minako and Mari waited inside the airport until he had to check in. When Yuuri had to leave for the gate he finally had to also say goodbye to Mari and Minako. After several hugs and promises to call and to look after himself, Yuuri went to the gate. 

In the gate he had to wait till he could board the airplane. Yuuri found a seat for himself and Victor. As he finally sat down in the gate he couldn’t hold his tears back. He started to cry into Victor’s fur. The dog felt his owner’s sadness and started to lick his face again. Surprised Yuuri looked in his poodle’s eyes and started to slightly smile. His parents were right, the little one was going to ease his life immensely. 

“Thank you, Vicchan.” Yuuri whispered to his new dog. He knew that his new life was going to be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pirouette - a compelete rotation on one foot, either on point or demi-point
> 
>  
> 
> One thing I forgot to say: I don't have a beta reader, so every mistake is my own. I appreciate everytime you tell me about any errors you should find. 
> 
> P.S. Happy White Day!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new life in St. Petersburg

It was the first time for Yuuri in a plane. He never before in his entire life flew somewhere. The farthest he ever travelled was to Tokyo for a school trip. But they had to take the train as the school wasn’t able to effort something more expansive like plane tickets. Quickly Yuuri learned that traveling by plane was completely different. The whole trip to Russia took almost 15 hours and he had to switch planes. It was the most exciting trip in Yuuri’s life. 

First Yuuri had to fly to Tokyo. The flight itself was very short but exciting for him. Sadly, he wasn’t sitting next to a window so he couldn’t see Fukouka getting smaller as they left it behind. Vicchan who was laying in Yuuri’s lap slept through the whole flight. Yuuri on the other hand didn’t want to sleep. As he sat next to the aisle he could perfectly watch the flight attendants run around and work. The flight itself was pleasant enough. 

In Tokyo Yuuri had to hurry to get to the other plane, which resulted in him running through the airport with his backpack on and Vicchan in his arms who miraculously slept through the whole ordeal. As he made it in time Yuuri was out of breath. Luckily, he hadn’t run into any other traveler or knocked somebody down. 

For the flight to Moscow Yuuri could sit next to a window. He was looking out of the window for the whole start of the flight. Vicchan was still asleep on his lap. Yuuri didn’t understand how the toy poodle could still sleep deeply even with the loud noise the starting plane made. 

This time Yuuri looked out of his window when the plane started to take off. It was a strange feeling seeing the people getting smaller until they became barely recognizable as other human beings. The environment as it shrank looked more fake and started to resemble toys. Yuuri was mesmerized by the look. It made him realize how big the world he lived in really was. As the plane flew higher and higher Yuuri could see the clouds. He never saw them so close before. The clouds looked fluffier than he thought they would. He wonder how the clouds would feel like if he could touch them. 

Yuuri kept watching the clouds for a while. He then took out his headphones and looked at the monitor in front of him, which was attached to his front seat. He switched to the channels available there but didn’t find any movie or show he was interested in. So, he switched back to the world map where he could see the current location of his plane. Instead of watching something he searched for his mp3-player in his backpack. He looked for some music to listen to while he looked at the clouds and occasionally at the map. Going through his music Yuuri remembered that Minako-sensei made him a playlist with his favorite songs to dance to and some new recommendations of her own. He started to listen a familiar song and petted Vicchan. 

After a while the flight attendants started to walk around and giving out meals to the passengers for dinner. Luckily the plane wasn’t crowded. He only had one person sitting with him in the row. The other passenger was a middle-aged male Alpha in a suit who sat in the seat next to the aisle, which meant that the seat in between them were empty. Yuuri tried to put the table from the front seat down but soon he noticed he couldn’t do it with Vicchan still in his lap. 

Because the seat right next to him was still empty he slowly tried to lay Vicchan down there without waking him up. The slow motion didn’t stir Vicchan. As the dog was placed next to Yuuri he scratched the dog between his ears. Yuuri smiled lovely at his companion. 

As the flight attendants made their way to Yuuri Vicchan slowly started to wake up through the commotion in the plane. The nice stewardess gave Yuuri his meal and the toy poodle smelled the scent of food in the air. Excitedly Vicchan wanted to jump into Yuuri’s lap to try getting a bite of the meat on his tray. 

“Vicchan! Stop it.!” Yuuri exclaimed surprised at the behavior of his dog. If Yuuri really thought about it, he didn’t know when his new dog ate before. 

Yuuri tried to settle Vicchan while trying to find dog food in his backpack without knocking down his own food. It was almost impossible with only two hands because the dog thought that Yuuri’s tries of soothing him were an invitation to play together. Luckily the older Alpha sitting in the same row helped distracting the poodle. Vicchan turned to look at the new human trying to get the dogs attention. This way Yuuri was able to get some snacks for the dog out that his mother gave him before they departed. 

“Thank you for helping me with my dog and I am so sorry that I am disrupting your meal.” Yuuri said to the unknown Alpha who was rubbing Vicchan’s belly. He didn’t know how he should feel about the whole situation. After all some stranger was playing with his puppy and Vicchan was happily allowing it. 

The older man smiled at the little dog and answered back in English with a heavy Russian accent. “No problem. I love dogs and the little one is too cute not to pet. So, I was just wondering how to ask you without making it creepy or awkward. I mean, we are after all going to sit in this plane together for a while and you are just a young boy.” The man chuckled after his statement. 

Yuuri didn’t know what to say back but the man next to him looked honest. But he was still happy that his scent blockers were intact. 

The scent blockers made his scent appear like that of a Beta. Normally he didn’t like the artificially scent on himself. It made him feel like something wasn’t right. To have a strange smell around him that wasn’t his own scent but, in a way, still resembled his just in a plainer way, was unsettling for Yuuri, which was the reason for him trying to minimalize the use of scent blockers to the necessary. The use of scent blockers for his trip to Russia was absolutely necessary. Yuuri would never feel at ease with a lot of strangers in a small space which he couldn’t leave for a long time with his natural Omegan smell out in the open. 

Yuuri didn’t know what to answer to the man next to him. But apparently, he didn’t demand an answer from Yuuri. Awkwardly Yuuri turned to his meal and slowly started eating. He didn’t notice his hunger until he finally ate something. Even though the meal didn’t really taste good Yuuri devoured his food quickly. When his stomach was sated and he just had his dessert to eat he allowed himself to glance back to Vicchan and his fellow traveler. By now the Alpha was concentrating on his own meal and Vicchan was looking up at Yuuri and waiting for something. For what the dog was waiting for Yuuri didn’t know.

After a while the flight attendants came back to collect the trays again. Vicchan was still looking eager at Yuuri. He didn’t know what to do with his dog. The whole trip until now went pretty smoothly for him and Vicchan that he forgot he knew the dog for only half a day. Yuuri did the only thing he could think about. 

“Vicchan up!” Yuuri told his dog. Happily, the little poodle jumped back onto Yuuri’s lap. Apparently, the small dog just wanted Yuuri’s attention back on him. Yuuri smiled at the behavior of Vicchan and pet him on his head. Vicchan closed his eyes and his tail shook satisfied back and forth. Yuuri was proud that he could make his dog happy with just such a small action. 

The stranger looked at the wholesome picture Yuuri and Vicchan made and smiled, which caused Yuuri to blush vigorously as he felt his eyes on them. 

“I got the dog only some hours ago before we left Japan from my parents.” Yuuri mumbled embarrassed that someone else witnessed that sweet moment between him and Vicchan. 

“Hahahaha. Don’t worry about that. You two clearly already have a strong bond. I think that little dog really likes you. He just wants you for himself.” The man chuckled fondly. 

“Really?” Yuuri responded quickly and excitedly. It was embarrassing for him to appear so eager. But he wanted his dog to like him. “By the way the dog’s name is Victor. But I call him Vicchan.” Yuuri added more calmly. 

“Yes. You and Victor just need to get used to each other. I’m Pavel. What are you two doing in Russia? You don’t need to answer if you don’t feel comfortable.” The alpha introduced himself. 

“No, it’s okay. My name is Yuuri and I am moving to Russia to further my ballet training. I got the opportunity to train under a former professional prima ballerina. Why were you in Japan, Pavel-san?” Yuuri engaged in the small talk. 

“Ah so, you are a danseur! Do you want to dance ballet professionally as well? This will cost you a lot of dedication. I hope you make it Yuuri. But you are going to the right place. There are a lot of ballet companies in Russia. They probably are always searching for good dancers.   
I was working for some months in Tokyo. I got transferred from Moscow to Tokyo. At first it was fun living in a different country and working for a different section of our company. But after a while I got lonely. I was living and working so far away from my family and my girlfriend. At the end all I wanted was going back to them.” Pavel looked off far away. It looked like he was contemplating the past months back in Tokyo. 

“You were regretting your choice to move away from your loved ones to pursue your dream?” Yuuri asked further, scared that he was doing the wrong thing as well. If a grown man couldn’t live alone in a different country how was Yuuri supposed to do it without his family and friends. 

Pavel immediately understand the intention behind Yuuri’s question and answered. “Yuuri, my boss wanted to me to manage a whole division by myself. My co-workers were very nice and we could understand each other through English but I just realized that I was the wrong person to lead them. I am good at what I did back in Moscow but there I was just a good hard worker in a whole group. I am not made to be a manager. It wasn’t the right thing for me.   
One night I was walking home from work late at night and I looked at the store windows of the closed shops. In one I saw a beautiful engagement ring in it and I had to instantly think of my Valeriya, my Omegan girlfriend. I just knew that whatever I would do in my work life would never make me as happy as she could make me. Valeriya is my dream. So, the next day I asked if I could get my job back in Russia and I bought that ring for her. When I see her at the airport I am going to ask her to marry me.” Pavel searched for a little box in his baggage. When he found it he, he opened it and showed the ring to Yuuri. 

Yuuri awed at the beautiful ring. He was moved by Pavel’s story. “She will definitely say yes.” Yuuri smiled at him. 

“Thank you, Yuuri. It’s good to tell someone my plan. To tell the truth sometimes it is nice to talk to some stranger and just talk about something important in your life, knowing you most likely will never see the other person again.” 

“I wanted to become a professional ballet dancer since I can think. Now with a professional training and my new teacher’s connections I will be closer than ever to the fulfillment of my dream, which seems somehow really scary for me. If I will now fail I have nobody else to blame then myself and my skills. But on the other hand, I think all complications are worth it in the end no matter what the result will be. I think I would regret not trying even more than failing.” After a while Yuuri honestly said what he had on his mind. 

Pavel looked at Yuuri. “If that is your dream than everything is worth to accomplish it. You are still young and should give it your all. You can never know what will happen in your future. The same goes with friendships and relationships. Sometimes you find yourself in the strangest situations but still can be happy and content. Good things come unexpected. My advice for you would be to just focus on ballet and just find your happiness together with Victor. I mean after all Vicchan loves you unconditionally.” 

The two smiled at each other and were thinking about their talk on their own. Yuuri looked down to his dog who still was content with being petted. Somehow the talk with his fellow traveler made his heart lighter. 

Apart from that the flight went rather uneventful. When the plane finally landed Yuuri had to wait before making his way out of the plane without Vicchan getting stomped on by other people. Pavel was nice and helped Yuuri with his luggage and they together made their way to the gate. There the two had to part as Yuuri needed to get the next plane to St. Petersburg. The nice Alpha helped him finding the right gate. As they were going to part ways forever they changed some words again with each other. 

Pavel kneeled in front of Vicchan to pet him again and said, “Hey, Yuuri. I hope you make it in the ballet industry. My Valeriya likes ballet so perhaps in the future we are going to see you on a big stage. Wouldn’t that be nice?”

“If your wife really likes ballet that much I guess you have to see me than.” Yuuri responded lighthearted. 

“You and Victor take care of each other, okay?” Pavel spokes. 

“Oh, I forgot to ask you. Do you have a dog as well? I mean it is kind of obvious that you like them.” Yuuri asked curiously. 

“No, my girlfriend is more a cat person. We only have a cat but perhaps in the future.” Pavel said hopefully. 

They both wished the other one only the best and said their goodbyes as they parted. 

The last short flight from Moscow to St. Petersburg couldn’t end faster for Yuuri and Vicchan. As the plane finally landed Yuuri felt completely exhausted. The whole trip after all lasted over 15 hours. Yuuri couldn’t wait to finally be on solid ground again, but apparently the other passenger of the flight thought so as well. When the pilot announced that people could leave the plane everyone was standing up and trying to leave as fast as possible. 

All the excitement from the passengers agitated Vicchan as well. Consequently, Yuuri decided to wait until the plane was emptier to get his stuff and to step out of the plane. He kept Vicchan on his lap and tried to soothe him a little bit, but Vicchan still observed the other people leaving. 

When the plane got less crowded Yuuri stand up. He kept Vicchan in his arms, because Yuuri thought he was too small to run around in the plane alone. On the other hand, he didn’t want his dog to bother the remaining passengers. Yuuri thanked the flight attendants and made his way out of the plane. 

Out of the plane and back on solid ground, Yuuri let Vicchan down from his arms as well. The little poodle was excited and wagged his tail repeatedly. Even though he was on a plane for hours he stayed close to Yuuri. Vicchan started to smell at the new surroundings. Yuuri smiled at the small puppy, it was adorable to see him so excited. 

Yuuri arrived at St. Petersburg in Summer. The summer in Russia wasn’t too warm. The weather was just pleasant. But Yuuri was worried about the winter. His mother bought him new warmer clothes for that time of the year. Still, how was he supposed to function in the cold environment? And what about Vicchan? If he went on a walk together with the little dog, he would definitely freeze. Yuuri imagined Vicchan trying to walk in the snowy streets of St. Petersburg. The little dog would just sink into the snow and nobody would be able to see him in there. 

Vicchan barked at Yuuri. The puppy tried to bring Yuuri’s attention back on him but the bark didn’t sound firm or resolute. Instead the bark was just a cute yip. Yuuri smiled fondly at the dog and looked at the adorable dog. He could worry about the future a different time. He made his way further into the airport together with the little puppy. 

Yuuri tried to find his way to the baggage claim area to find his luggage. The inside of the airport was very busy and loud. All announcements and information signs were in Russian and only some in English. He felt lost. In the months before moving to Russia Yuuri tried to learn some helpful sentences in Russian. But learning by himself with some kind of books weren’t really helpful in his current situation. The signs thankfully had some pictograms on, which he tried to unravel. Slowly he made his way through the many busy travelers. 

As he finally made his way to the baggage claim area he searched for his suitcase. It was complicated to get his suitcase and keeping an eye on Vicchan, but with a lot of patience Yuuri made it. With Vicchan on his leash and his suitcase in the other hand he slowly made his way to the meeting point. He knew from Minako-sensei that Baranovskaya-sama was supposed to wait for him there. 

Yuuri didn’t know what Minako-sensei’s friend looked like. He hoped Minako would have described his looks to her friend as his teacher was the one planning the whole deal with his new ballet teacher. 

A lot of people were already standing at the meeting point and were waiting for the passengers of different flights. Luckily, he quickly saw a sign with his name on. He made his way over to the person holding the piece of paper. She was a tall, good looking and slightly older woman. She wore her dark brown hair up in a bun. Her makeup which was a little bit on the heavier side, accented her high cheekbones and green eyes. The woman stood out from the crowd with her blue, noble looking dress. 

When Yuuri arrived at the side of the woman her sharp eyes eyed him and his overall appearance. As the woman and Yuuri didn’t say a word for a moment Vicchan used the opportunity to bark. Immediately the woman’s eye went to the little dog next to Yuuri. Her eyes didn’t betray her and revealed her thoughts about Vicchan. 

“Are you Yuuri Katsuki?” She asked in an accented English while pointing to the sign still in her hand. 

“Are you Lilia Baranovskaya?” Yuuri responded. 

For the first time a small smile appeared on her face. She thrown the sign in the bin and indicated to follow her outside. Yuuri followed her to her car and he put his luggage in the trunk of the car. She allowed him to sit together with Vicchan on the front seat. As they made their way into the city of St. Petersburg with the car Lilia started to talk again. 

“First, we are going to stop at your new home. The apartment isn’t really big but that shouldn’t be a problem as you will not spend much time in there. With the money of your parents I bought you just the necessaries. You can later decorate it to your heart's content. You can make it your real home. Then I will show you around a little bit. At last I am going to show you my ballet studio. I expect you to spend most of your time there especially because you still have school holidays. I found you an apartment that is only a five-minute walk away from my ballet studio.” Lilia explained their plans for the rest of the day. Yuuri listened carefully to her talk. 

As the car finally stopped in front of an apartment complex they all climbed out. The environment seemed nice and friendly. Yuuri could see a park in the near distance. Vicchan was already walking to the nearest tree and sniffed around. The dog was curious of the new setting. Lilia walked already around the car to get Yuuri’s suitcase out of the trunk. She made her way to the two with the suitcase and together they made their way to Yuuri’s new home. 

The house where his flat was located in was white and didn’t look bad. It wasn’t too modern but it wasn’t too old and shabby as well. Nothing was destroyed and there were no graffiti at the house walls. Inside there wasn’t an elevator so the whole group had to take the steps to arrive at the fourth floor. 

Lilia had to search for the keys as they stood in front of the apartment door. When she finally found them and opened the door, the group went inside. The flat itself wasn’t big but it should have been enough for just Yuuri and Vicchan for now. The walls of the flat were painted in an unexcitedly beige color. The living room and kitchen were connected. The two parts of the room were just separated by a kitchen counter. In front of the kitchen counter stood three different stools made out of wood. The kitchen itself was completely white. Some old lamps were hanging from the ceiling above the kitchen counter. An older refrigerator was standing next to the sink. Where the kitchen was already filled with furniture, the living room on the other hand looked even more bare. There was one old looking couch sitting next to the wall. Yuuri slowly made his way over to the sofa and sat down in it. Even through the couch didn’t look very pleasing it was nice sitting in the comfortable couch. While sitting in the couch he could see the bare walls better. As he looked around he notice the desk and chair combo standing in one of the corners of the room. The desk and chair were probably there for him to have a place to study and to make is homework from his new school. Lilia followed Yuuri’s eye movement to the desk in the corner. 

“We still have to buy a shelf for your schoolbooks. I already contacted your school myself and they sent me a list of materials you would need for your next school term. Most of it I ordered before you even arrived but it didn’t make it in time. I enlisted you for some special courses as well. Mostly languages courses for Russian, as you will need to learn speaking Russian immediately when you want to live here for a while. Even though a lot of people here can talk English I would advice you to learn Russian as fast as possible. It would make your life and connecting with other people so much easier.   
The other extracurricular courses I enrolled you in are music related. I know from Minako that she tried to teach you in the theme as well. It will benefit your life later when you want to try to choreograph your own dance performances. It will also benefit your overall ability to dance to different styles of music.   
Your school itself is farther away from here. This means you will have to take the bus to get there every morning. But I will show you the route on a later date. Also, I will have to show you how to get tickets for public transportation at a later time.   
I expect from all my ballet students to do well in school. I will never teach somebody that falls behind with their performance at school. Come now Yuuri, want to show you your bedroom.” Lilia took Yuuri’s suitcase and made her way over to a door at the end of the living room. 

Yuuri slowly stood up and made his way over there as well, but not before trying to find Vicchan in the apartment. The dog was sniffling around in the kitchen as it was probably the most interesting part of the flat for him. 

The bedroom itself was smaller than the living room he just was in. In this room where just a middle sized bad standing next to a window and a bigger wardrobe. Both pieces of furniture were made of wood and also seemed older. Lilia put his suitcase next to the wardrobe. When Yuuri looked out of the window he could see the skyline of St. Petersburg. After all his flat was located relatively high. Another door in the room brought Yuuri to the bathroom. Inside there were only a toilet, a shower and a washing machine. Thankfully Yuuri wouldn’t need to leave his new home to wash his own clothes. Lilia started to talk again as Yuuri left the bathroom. 

“You can unpack your luggage later when your back here again. Come on, let me show you the way to the ballet studio. Before I bring you to your new home again, we have to go grocery shopping because you don’t have anything eatable here. I hope you can cook, because I can’t also look after you in this way.” Lilia said sternly. 

Yuuri shook his head and answered Lilia. “No, you don’t have to worry about that. I can look after myself.” 

With a satisfied nod Lilia made her way to the front door again but paused. She turned again and looked Yuuri in the eyes. “Before I forget it here are the keys to the apartment. Don’t lose them.” With that Lilia gave Yuuri the keys unceremoniously. 

Before she could leave the flat and would just expect Yuuri to follow her, he blurted out, “What about Vicchan, my dog? Can I bring him with me?” 

Lilia looked at the little dog in the kitchen, who looked up as well by the mentions of his name, and she swiftly looked away. She nodded shortly and certain. She turned around and made her way out of the apartment. Yuuri quickly took Vicchan on his leash again and followed her outside. 

After a five-minute walk they stood outside of Lilia’s ballet studio together. The ballet studio was definitely bigger than Minako-sensei’s. The building itself looked already prestigious. As Lilia explained when they went inside, the studio was closed today because of his arrival. She hadn’t the time for courses and making sure Yuuri would make it to St. Petersburg safely. After all she promised her good friend Minako to look after her precious student. 

“Tomorrow your training with me will begin. I want you here earlier than usual, around 6 o’clock. I want to see you dance without anybody else observing you. I know from Minako that you sometimes show signs of your anxiety when to many unknown people watch you dance in a stressful environment. We are going to work on that as well here because you can’t show your fear when you want to stand on the big stage and dance. Tomorrow morning, I want to see your expertise without anybody interfering. I want to judge your skills this way better than with the video tapes Minako sent me of you. I need to know where you lack in your training.   
Normally I only take ballet students that either are very young, so that I can teach them from the very beginning, or older ballet students from well known ballet schools in Russia, where I know they have a lot of background already on which my training can build on.   
I am making many exceptions for you, Yuuri but only because you were taught by Minako who I respect very much. This will be a new experience for me as well as you.   
I know that your dog is here in Russia with you to calm you down and make you feel safer in the new environment. This is why, you can let him stay here during your training in either my office or the dance room if he is not distracting you in any way or he is interrupting me. Otherwise he has to stay at home.   
At 7 am in the morning my advanced classes start which you will join. Most of the student are in the same age category as you but they are all female Betas or female Omegas. The class will take one and a half hour. At 1 pm there will be another dance class but not here. I am going to show you the place in a minute. Then at 6 pm there is another advanced ballet classes here in my place with the same people from the morning. The class will also take one and a half hour.   
Yuuri, there is one last thing I want to talk about. You have to know that the ballet industry is very competitive. Do you take scent blockers usually?” 

Confused by that question Yuuri shook his head. 

“Good. I don’t want you to hide the fact that you are an Omega. Even though it will definitely make your life in ballet harder and more complicated. There are still many stereotypes about male Omegas which could hinder you sometimes. But I want you to know that could not be the only reason why you will not be making it in the industry. There is only a small amount of people that can actually live as professional ballet dancers. Skill and talent is not enough to make it. There are a lot of people with that. You have to show everybody that you are the best and that you bring something to the table that nobody else has. Don’t mistake my words, Yuuri. I don’t want you to become someone that would stop at nothing to accomplish your dream.   
Even here at my studio the other students will probably not like you. After all you are the beautiful new danseur from far away. You get a special treatment and it will not matter if you are better or worse than my other students. No matter what they say or do to you, Yuuri, I want you to not take it to heart. I want to help you grow not only as a dancer but also as a person. So that this will never bother you again. If you are willing to invest and endure everything, then I can promise I will make an amazing dancer out of you.” 

Yuuri’s eyes widened slightly at Lilia’s words. On one hand he was moved by the dedication he could see in her but on the other hand he never heard somebody talk so clearly about the bad side of ballet in the open. 

“Thank you, Baranovskaya-san. I will keep your words in mind at all time.” Yuuri responded honestly. 

“You can call me by my first name.” Lilia offered.   
“Okay, Lilia-sensei.” 

“Sensei? What does that mean?” Lilia wondered.

“It’s an honorific and it can be used for teachers. I address Minako-sensei the same way.” Yuuri answered. 

“If it makes you more comfortable, so be it. Let me show you the different dance studio.” Lilia said with a slight smile. 

Two blocks away from Lilia-sensei’s ballet studio was another dance studio, which didn’t belong to her. But she sent a lot of her students here as well. 

“I know from Minako that she teached you in ballroom dancing as well. I want you to learn even more. Here you can learn more traditional partner dances. This experience will only benefit you in the future, when you need other influences from different dance styles for your performance.   
I want you to go here three times a week for an hour between my classes. Tomorrow I will give you a time schedule for the next weeks.   
At last I want to go grocery shopping with you for today. You must be hungry by now, right?” 

Yuuri’s stomach answered the question on its own as it started to growl. The two dancers together with Vicchan made their way to a supermarket near Yuuri’s new apartment. 

“For today we should buy an instant meal. I don’t want you cooking today and you can indulge yourself because of the pretty eventful day. From tomorrow on you have to be on a diet. As a ballet dancer you have to eat healthy and keep a certain weight. I will give you tomorrow a list of stuff you can and cannot eat.” 

Lilia and Yuuri quickly bought everything necessary for him to survive. She even helped him search for the right dog food for Vicchan. On the fast walk home, they didn’t talk much anymore. Anything important was already said for today. In front of the apartment the two said their goodbyes knowing they were going to see each other tomorrow again. 

Finally, upstairs Yuuri opened the door of his new home again and let Vicchan in first. Vicchan again began sniffing around their new home. Yuuri put the groceries away in the fridge and pantry of his new kitchen. The only thing remaining on the kitchen counter was his meal for the evening. He heated his noodle soup on the oven and eat it quickly. He gave Vicchan his food as well. Afterwards he went inside his bedroom. He started to make his bed. He knew it wouldn’t be like his former nest back in Japan but it had to suffice for now. In the future he could buy better blankets and pillows for his nest. When the bed was ready he opened the luggage and tucked his clothes away in his new wardrobe. He put his laptop and a picture of his family and friends, made some days before his departure, on the new desk. After he finished his work for today he went to shower all the stress and dirt on himself away. The day felt longer than 24 hours for Yuuri. In his pajamas he set the alarm for tomorrow and laid down in his bed. It was only 7 pm but Yuuri felt dead tired and couldn’t keep his eyes open. Before he fell asleep he could feel Vicchan jumping on the bed and cuddling in with him. They slept together in bed for the first time. 

 

At 5 o’clock in the morning Yuuri’s alarm clock rang. Slowly he opened his eyes. He could feel a nice weight on his chest. As he looked down he could see Vicchan laying curled up there and sleeping. His little body was slowly raising and lowering while he breathed in his sleep. The dog looked so peaceful laying on Yuuri. Carefully Yuuri tried to leave the bed without disturbing the small puppy. As he succeeded he made his way over to the bathroom. The dog looked even smaller alone in the bed. As he finished showering and brushing his teeth, he put some workout clothes on for dancing. 

He went over to the kitchen to make himself some tea. While he had to wait for the water to boil he packed a bag for training. As the tea was ready he sat down at the kitchen counter. The sounds in the kitchen woke Vicchan up. The dog slowly made his way over to Yuuri who scratched the dog behind the ears. It was still half an hour before 6 am and Yuuri just finished his tea. He took Vicchan on the leash knowing they both were going to eat breakfast together after the morning training. 

As they both had still some time they went to the park Yuuri saw yesterday. He wasn’t the only person there walking the dogs. The park apparently was popular for dog owners. Vicchan was able to do his business there and they both went to Lilia-sensei’s studio. 

Yuuri arrived some minutes before 6 o’clock at the ballet studio. He decided to let Vicchan stay in the ballet room. He told Vicchan to stay next to his bag. Yuuri got out his new ballet shoes and started to break them in. When he put his shoes safely on he started to stretch. While stretching Lilia-sensei came into the room. They greeted each other and Lilia-sensei told him what she was expecting him to do today. 

For the next hour Yuuri just danced what Lilia wanted to see without worries. After all Lilia had to see what he can do for better training lessons in the future. He didn’t try to impress her in any way and just danced. He was just happy to stand in a ballet studio again. 

At the end of the hour Lilia seemed satisfied by the sample of Yuuri’s skill. She told him to relax for a little while before the actual ballet lesson would start. Yuuri walked over to his bag where Vicchan was patiently sitting and waiting for his owner. He sat down next to his bag and let the dog climb on his lap. He took out his water bottle and drank some water. Yuuri decided to bring Vicchan to Lilia’s office as he didn’t want to interrupt the first lesson with his new fellow students with his dog. In Lilia’s office the dog could walk around more freely. 

When he came back to the dance room some other girls were already in the room with him. They were stretching for the following lessons. As he wanted to go over and introduce himself they all looked at him funnily. They didn’t even stop talking in Russian and completely ignored him. Yuuri didn’t know what to think of them and secured himself a nice place on the ballet bar. As Lilia came back in she immediately started the class. He could dismiss the others and concentrate purely on dancing. 

As the class finished he took his bag he quickly went to retrieve Vicchan. The dog was happy to see him again. Yuuri was hungry after all the dancing. He knew he still had some time before his partner dancing lessons would begin. He took Vicchan and wanted to leave but Lilia was coming over to talk. 

“Yuuri, you did so much better than I thought. You improved so much even in the months between your videos and now. But there is still some work that has to be done. I will adjust your training accordingly. I will see you later in the evening. Don’t forget to relax a little bit between classes.” Lilia-sensei reminded him. 

Yuuri nodded and walked back to his home. At home he made breakfast for himself and Vicchan. They ate together in the kitchen. The rest of the morning Yuuri was exploring the apartment. He looked around and tried to write down the stuff that was missing for his new home. He assessed that some pots and plates where missing in the kitchen. He would need fluffier blankets and some more pillows for the bedroom. For the bathroom some essentials were missing as well. The almost empty living room needed the most work. He would have to buy a cheap stereo equipment as he perhaps wanted to train at home. He wasn’t sure yet whether Lilia would allow him to come train at late hours in the day by himself as he could at Minako’s place. He also need some more decoration on the bare walls, perhaps even a plant would look good in his new home. He wasn’t sure yet. 

When the time for the ballroom dance lessons came Yuuri went outside by himself. He didn’t know his teacher there yet and he thought he could trust Vicchan for a little bit over an hour at home alone. 

He was excited to dance with a partner. Normally for these lessons back in Japan he would have danced together with Minako but here he would get a different partner. He was wondering who this person was. 

As it turned out the people in the other dance studio were nice. The classes were much smaller than the classes at Lilia’s studio. Only a handful of people were dancing along site with Yuuri. His partner was an Alpha slightly older than Yuuri. He was normally dancing with his girlfriend during these lessons but they broke up some weeks before Yuuri arrived. His girlfriend stopped coming to these classes but the Alpha liked them so he stayed. But with a broken heart he didn’t even care that Yuuri was an Omega. Still Yuuri liked the slightly dramatic Alpha. He was a good dance partner. Yuuri felt comfortable around him. 

The hour went by rather quickly. After class he talked for a while with his new acquaintance, who’s name was Georgi. Georgi told him that he was a figure skater and he liked these classes very much. He even thought of incorporating some elements in his performances on the ice. Of course, he also talked a lot about his former girlfriend Eva who left him because of his clinging personality traits, which Georgi didn’t understand at all. 

After lunch back at home Yuuri took his bag for training and Vicchan to explore his neighborhood more. He found even more parks around his new. He liked that there were so much room for Vicchan to play. He knew that it was possible to see the ocean as well in St. Petersburg but he still didn’t know where to go for the ocean. In his neighborhood were a lot of stores and even a cinema. So, there were many possibilities for entertainment. They walked around until it was time for his last class of the day. 

As he arrived at Lilia’s studio he immediately went to the ballet room and put down his bag. He let Vicchan stay this time. As he was stretching to get ready he could feel the eyes of his fellow dancers on his back. They were still talking in Russian and hadn’t switch to English for Yuuri. After all they didn’t make an effort to welcome him into their class at all. The girls were laughing loudly and Yuuri could imagine what these girls were talking about. 

Yuuri tried his best to ignore the looks and the whisper behind his back but it got harder and harder. He was just happy the day would be over soon. 

 

The first week in St. Petersburg for Yuuri existed out of training and coping with his new life. The week was exhausting. The relationship between him and his fellow students at Lilia’s ballet studio didn’t seem to change for the better. But at least he and Vicchan came to understand each other better and better. The dog now stayed for all his training lessons. It was nice to see at least one friendly face around him. 

Lilia-sensei was a great teacher but as it seemed right now he wouldn’t have a deeper connection with her as he had with Minako-sensei. He was fine with it as Lilia still was a nice person but sometimes he just missed being around Minako. He missed all his friends and family very much. He never before was so far away from them. 

When it was finally Sunday and he didn’t have to train, he waited for the appropriate time to call his parents. After only some rings his mother already answered the phone. It was nice to hear her voice but it made him miss her so much more. 

“Yuu-chan, is that you? Oh, we all are missing you so much.” His mother immediately said. 

“Okaa-san! Yes, it is me. I am missing you all very much, too.” Yuuri assured his mother. 

“How was the flight? How is St. Petersburg? Do you like it there? What about your training? Is Minako-senpai’s friend nice to you? How is Vicchan behaving?” Hiroko asked excited. She wanted to know everything. 

Yuuri just wanted to answer the questions truthfully but as he heard the tone of her voice he stopped. How could he tell her about the struggles he was having here without making her worry too much? He didn’t want to make her carry his burden as well. 

“Everything is fine. It’s a dream come true. But tell me what happened back home in the week I was gone?” Yuuri answered with a sad smile, glad she couldn’t see him right now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I started the chapter I didn't knew it was going to be so huge. But this chapter just didn't want to stop.   
> At first it wasn't even planned that Georgi would already appear here but he had a mind of his own. hahaha :)
> 
> If anything about the ballet training looks unlikely it's because I don't know anything about a healthy training structure. All I know from friends who dance ballet as a hobby is that you have to train a lot. So I imagined that training ballet to become a professional would require even more training hours. 
> 
> If there are any mistakes please tell me. 
> 
> P.S.   
> I am overwhelmed by the positive feedback I am getting. Thank you for everybody that is reading my story. I love you.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Relationships

Yuuri lived in St. Petersburg now for two years already. The two years went by really fast. His live in Russia was going well for him. It wasn't perfect, but who's live was perfect anyway? 

Over the two years in Russia he became more accustomed to living on his own and not seeing his family and friends everyday in person. At first it was very hard for Yuuri and he missed everyone very much. Before back at home in Japan he always had the support of his family and friends. But now all on his own Yuuri just had to grow up. 

Without his family around him any time Yuuri had to become way more independent. He couldn’t just lean on his parents for everything. He had to do things on his own. After all, Vicchan was also depending on him to survive. Becoming an adult also meant to realize he had responsibilities. He couldn’t just do whatever he wanted. Even though ballet would always be his priority in life, Yuuri had to worry about other stuff as well. After all, there was nobody else who would have cared about them for him instead. 

Of course, Yuuri still kept in contact with his family. After two years he was missing his family like crazy. Sometimes he would talk about his new life in St. Petersburg but most of the time he wanted to hear how their lives were back in Japan. Some part of him hoped it was all still the same as before he left. The possibility that his family could have moved on with their lives without him was a strange concept for Yuuri. But in reality Yuuri knew that their lives probably changed just as much as his when he left Japan. Even if he came back right now, it would never be like back than again. Life and time could only go forward and never backwards.

Through his weekly calls from back home he heard that Yu-topia wasn’t going as well as in his childhood. With Hasestu shrinking population a lot of hot spring resorts had to close in the past two years. His family’s onsen was still running but apparently not as well as before. Sadly, even his parents had to dismiss most of their employees. Mari was now working at Yu-topia full time as well. She wasn’t paid much but she helped their parents anyway. Nobody of them wanted to see their parents lose the onsen which were owned by his family for decades. 

Before Mari was just helping here and there in the hot springs resort when needed. She had a desk job in a bigger city and every work day Mari had to take an early train to get to her job. Even though her work didn’t satisfy her completely it paid well for her first job after school. His sister didn’t think that she would benefit from university. After her school education she was just done with teachers, learning and exams. She was saving money to move out and to start her own life. 

But with Yuuri moving to Russia and the new costs of his school education, dance lessons and his own apartment in St. Petersburg Mari stayed at home to help. Now that Yu-topia was also having money problems Mari didn’t move away from their parent’s home. The sparse money they made was reinvested into the onsen or spend on Yuuri. It felt like Mari’s life was on hold, she couldn’t live the way she wanted to. 

Yuuri felt guilty for this. If he would have stayed in Japan his family wouldn’t have that many money related problems. His sister perhaps wouldn’t have to quit her job and she weren’t forced to only work at the onsen. Instead he could have been the one helping his parents. 

Mari never complained about working at the onsen and his parents never put the blame on him for their problems but they didn’t need to say it out loud for it to still be true. Yuuri just knew he was at least partially to blame. There was just no way for him to help with his busy schedule and the large distance between him and his family. The only thing Yuuri knew was that in the future if he ever would make it in ballet he wanted to give something back to his family. He wanted to show how truly thankful and grateful he was towards them. 

For his success Yuuri had to work hard and even had to make sacrifices in his life. Even though he went to school in Russia and made some acquaintance there, he didn’t really have many friends in St. Petersburg. 

During the last two years he worked hard to get his high school degree. Most of his time was split between ballet training and his school education. In his short free time Yuuri was working out, doing homework, learning or playing and spending time with Vicchan. His busy life separated him from his fellow schoolmates. 

At first as the new kid at school Yuuri was interesting for everyone in class. People wanted to talk to him all the time. Though communication could have been complicated with Yuuri’s non-existent knowledge of Russian, thankfully his schoolmates in the international school could all talk English very well. But soon after he actually talked with them for a while he realized that the teenagers at his new school came from a totally different background than him. 

Most of Yuuri’s fellow schoolmates came from well-off and important families from all over the world. Their wealthy lifestyle clashed with Yuuri’s humble upbringing quite much. It didn’t mean that he couldn’t find a common ground with the others, it just made it harder for him to make meaningful relationships with them. His schoolmates had their future already planned by their parents and laid out before them. Yuuri’s future on the other side had more uncertainties and left more questions unanwered. 

At the beginning of his school life in Russia Yuuri was invited to a lot of parties or meetings from his classmates. Most of the times he declined the invitations as he had too much to do with additional classes and his ballet training. But when he decided to go to such a party one day and meet the others outside of school he didn’t really had fun there either. The others drank alcohol most of the time and were dancing with each other too. Some were making out with each other as well. As Yuuri didn’t really know the other people other than on a surface level, he didn’t know what to do there. 

On one hand Yuuri knew he couldn’t stay long at the party as he had morning training like always, which meant he couldn’t stay up too late. If he stayed up too late he wasn’t able to do anything in the morning and he would just felt awful. He tried staying up late besides his busy morning schedule just for fun once but he immediately regretted this decision in the morning. Since than Yuuri swore to never stay up too late before morning training as he learned from his previous mistakes. 

On the other hand, he didn’t want to drink alcohol at all. Yuuri remembered what happened to his father every time he was drunk. When his father was totally drunk he became very happy and livelier. He would also lose the ability to make good decisions which would result into a lot of embarrassing situations which could have escalated even more if his mother wouldn’t always barge in on his father’s drunk shenanigans. Yuuri really didn’t want to end up like his father and be drunk on a party where he wasn’t really friends with anyone. So Yuuri decided early on to better leave and he would think twice before coming back to such a gathering. 

This scene earned Yuuri again a lot of attention and people from his school started to talk behind his back about him. They started to call him names like killjoy. He got less and less invited to any get-togethers as he would just spoil the party anyway. 

Yuuri didn’t really care what they said about him. He was used people not understanding him, but he knew who his real friends were. It only meant Yuuri had enough time between school and dancing to catch up on the material his fellow students were further ahead. 

He also had a lot of Russian lessons which made his speech comprehension much better. Yuuri wouldn’t say he was really fluent with Russian at the moment but he got better every day. At least the daily tasks were easier for him now. Still he talked a lot of English with the teachers, his classmates and Lilia and his fellow ballet students. Reading and writing was still a bigger problem for him. He still needed time to get used to the new alphabet. 

His relationship with the others from Lilia’s ballet studio became better in some regards but in others got worse as well. The other dancers started to recognize him more for his talent and hard work. Yuuri started to impress the others which also resulted into envy. It wasn’t like he had more talent than some of the girls there. Yuuri was just more used to train harder to accomplish his goals. He could always feel the stares of the girls on him when Lilia praised him. It didn’t just make Yuuri uncomfortable to be in the center of bad attention, in some strange way it also boosted his confidence. After all Lilia-sensei’s students were very good as well and being envied by such people was an indication for his own skills. 

But there were some in Lilia’s studio who still ignored him completely. One of these people were Natasha. She was almost the exact opposite to Yuuri. She was tall, thin and lithe. Yuuri saw her eating whatever she liked without worrying about her weight at all, which made him envious. After all he had to maintain a strict diet to keep his weight. She had long blond hair which she wore in a bun for dancing, otherwise it was always falling down her shoulders. Natasha was quite beautiful which she was very aware of. She was also the best dancer in class. Her natural talent shined through every movement. Even when she just walked around she seemed to levitate. 

Natasha dismissed Yuuri purely by his designation even though ironically, she was an Omega herself. She just knew that he had very little chances of becoming famous in the ballet world as a male Omega. On the opposite she was already rumored to become the next prima ballerina of a reputable ballet company. Various companies showed interest in her in the different ballet shows Lilia’s studio staged. Natasha always got the lead role and nobody dared to speak against these decisions. She was the best dancer of Lilia’s studio anyway. Yuuri mostly got good roles with sometimes even solo performances. He was proud of his little time in the spotlight rather than just being a part of the group performances. Yuuri tried his best to show his individual level in these shows, which he mostly succeeded in except his very first performance when he was still new. It was a memory didn’t like thinking or talking of. It was just too embarrassing for him. 

If by some misfortunes Natasha wouldn’t make it into a ballet companies her future was already saved. She didn’t only come from a very fortunate family she also had already a lot of courters waiting just to woo her and marry her. It was apparently easy for Alphas to fall in love with her with her beauty and her smell of too sweet candy or desserts. 

She probably wasn’t half as bad as Yuuri liked to think of her. She was just everything his anxiety and insecurities were telling him to be. She was like a manifestation of his uncertainties in human form. These ugly thoughts just made him more determined to work harder than ever. 

Yuuri was always the first one at ballet training and the last to leave. He even jogged together with Vicchan to keep him company between studying and training. He wanted to keep his physical fitness up to the highest standards. He had to compensate for the fact that he was overall dancing ballet less than when he was with Minako-sensei. Even though the level of training he got from Lilia-sensei was above what Minako could have given him, his former ballet teacher let him stay longer at the studio which resulted into longer training sessions. 

Lilia-sensei always kept an eye on the hours Yuuri trained. She didn’t want him to overdo and hurt himself in the process. But she allowed him sometimes to stay behind and watch other ballet classes. He could never participate in them however because Lilia thought he could benefit even from watching other ballet dancers. There were even some professional ballet dancers coming in to practice on their own. Each dancer had his own style and soon Yuuri could recognize even the smallest changes in movement which made them unique. 

Over the last two years Yuuri tried to sneak into the trainings rooms in Lilia’s studio to dance later in the evening. Every time he tried that Lilia somehow found him rather soon and scolded him. One of these times she finally asked for his reason of desperately wanting to train even more in the evening. Yuuri confessed to her that Minako-sensei allowed him to stay later in her ballet studio which calmed his anxiety and gave him more confidence in his own skills. He needed the assurance that he did the most that could physically be possible for his dream. 

After some thoughts Lilia also allowed him to stay for an additional hour at her studio after all classes were done for the days. For these extra hours Lilia stayed behind longer than she normally would. After all she had to close up her studio by herself. Yuuri’s special training had to be after everyone left, because Lilia didn’t want to appear to give Yuuri a special treatment. She didn’t want rumors to spread that Yuuri were her favorite student even if occasionally that was true. 

At first Lilia stayed behind in her office and did her paperwork she normally would be doing back home. But through the years she started to watch these hours of extra training more closely. She watched Yuuri dance freely to music he got from Minako or just songs he liked to listen to privately. Eventually Lilia helped him even to think of choreographies for his favorite songs. Over the time and their time alone their relationship got much closer. 

Sometimes Yuuri would stay behind just to talk to her about dance related and even other problems. He liked to confide in her as she always spoke her mind freely without worrying to offend or hurt feelings. In return Lilia started to show him older performances of her active time as a prima ballerina. Yuuri liked to see the younger Lilia dance to some of the most famous music in the world. He could clearly see her personality in the way she danced. It was mesmerizing to say the least. Over the years Yuuri was comfortable with the direction his relationship to his ballet teacher went. 

He still went to the other dance studio for lessons in ballroom dance every week. Nowadays mostly just for fun as he knew the basics by heart. Lilia-sensei wanted him to learn different dance styles for his ballet training, so she sent him to learn interpretative dance as well. When he finished his training in this dance style Yuuri could tell that he didn’t like that one as much as ballroom dance. 

Another reason why he liked going to the ballroom dance lessons where Georgi. It was just fun to be around the Alpha. The two had a rule where both couldn’t talk about their problems in training at all, for Yuuri in ballet and for Georgi in figure skating. Rather early both found out that they could use each other company and ballroom dance to unwind. Most of the time they talked about meaningless stuff in the hour-long training session. Later on, Georgi would start talking about a new girl he liked, Anya. To talk about love problems and just to his new friend let Yuuri feel more like a normal teenager with normal problems. 

When Georgi’s and Yuuri’s relationship improved Yuuri was invited to Georgi’s home rink to skate together. He knew Yuuri could skate and even liked it very much. It was one of the activities he missed the most. Lilia didn’t allow Yuuri to go ice skating often as he could easily hurt himself. He also wasn’t allowed to do any complicated moves on the ice anymore. 

Yuuri was happy to be one the ice again for even a little while. Georgi showed him some parts of his new routine for the upcoming season. These kinds of talks reminded him of Yuuko who he missed very much. 

He kept in contact with Yuuko but he missed her very dearly. Especially now when she was pregnant. The news of her pregnancy came out of nowhere for him. He knew she was still dating Takeshi and he was happy for both of them. But Yuuri always thought that one day she would be a famous figure skater with her immense talent. However, Yuuko knew that it was almost impossible for her to go back to figure skating after the birth of her child. She also didn’t want to abandon her child for a possible career on the ice, which was why she decided to quit professional figure skater for good. 

Takeshi was moved by his girlfriend’s dedication to their new family so much that it was the last reason for him to actually propose to her. Yuuri knew about these plans for a long time but Takeshi was always scarred of her declining his proposal. 

Now with Takeshi and Yuuko being married to each other and the birth of their child, which turned out to be triplets, they were happier than ever. And Yuuri missed all of it because he was in Russia. He missed the most important events in his friends’ life for ballet. So much changed but not in his life. He had nothing he could look back on and be proud of. 

Ice skating helped Yuuri in situations where he felt like the worst friend in the whole wide world. When he stood on the ice again and danced there it felt like he could apologize to the friends he made thanks to the ice. It made his heart fell lighter. He was thankful that he had Georgi who would take him to the rink from time to time. 

Another activity Yuuri used to unwind was going out with Vicchan. At first, he would go with the dog around St. Petersburg for sight seeing but there was only so much to see after all. Luckily, Yuuri found a nice dog park in his neighborhood. He and Vicchan would visit that place several times every week. 

Vicchan was able to run around freely without his leech there. The first time he allowed the little poodle to walk freely in this park Yuuri was a mess. He was so scared the other so much bigger dogs would do something to his beloved pet. Yuuri never had a pet before the dog and wasn’t around much dogs back in Japan so he didn’t know how the other dogs would react to Vicchan. But thankfully his worries were completely groundless. When the poodle approached the others, they reacted friendly. They were smelling each other butts and invited Vicchan to play with them. The toy poodle was never afraid to play with much bigger dogs than himself. 

As frequently as the two went to the park Yuuri got to know some of the owners and the other dogs as well. There were so many different people in the park as different dog races where playing there. But they were all friendly to each other. Yuuri was more surprised by the fact that he never saw any other poodles occasionally running around in the park.

There was only one time he saw a different poodle. It was a standard size poodle with beige curly fur, which was well groomed. Yuuri thought that the other poodle strangely resembled his Vicchan. The standard poodle was very lively and was examining the whole park. As the poodles found each other they became instant friends. Vicchan was the type of dog that was well liked by the other dogs. But Yuuri never saw Vicchan make a friend so fast. The poodles were playing around together. Yuuri loved seeing his poodle just having fun. 

After a while Yuuri wanted to leave with Vicchan as he didn’t have so much time that day. He called for his pet but strangely the larger poodle tried to follow them. As he looked at the other dog more closely he could see that he wasn’t wearing a collar around his neck. But surely the dog had to belong to someone as well behaved and well looked after the poodle seemed. Yuuri didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t leave the dog for itself without looking for it’s owner but he really didn’t want to be late for Lilia’s class. Thankfully someone made that decision for Yuuri. He could hear a person calling for someone. Yuuri didn’t hear what name was being called for but the poodle seemed to hear it better. With that the standard poodle barked once and took off into the direction of the calls. When he couldn’t see the other dog anymore he continued walking to Lilia’s ballet studio together with Vicchan. He hoped the dog would have found his owner somehow. 

Sadly, Yuuri and Vicchan never met that nice and friendly poodle in the park again. 

 

When Yuuri was eighteen, Lilia came with a big announcement to his ballet class. There was a scholarship for a month in America at the well-known Juilliard School. It was a program where only the best dancers from all over the world could come and learn from the experienced teachers there for a month in the summer while the normal students there had holidays. 

Lilia who knew a teacher there was given the opportunity to send a few of her best students as well. The whole experience would be paid by an organization in Russia who wished for better connections between USA and Russia in the field of fine arts. 

She decided to send five of her students to Juilliard School, among them was Yuuri as well. Not everybody was happy to see him get this chance but it was going to be his biggest opportunity in his young life beside moving to St. Petersburg to train under Lilia-sensei. 

As Yuuri arrived at New York City he was overwhelmed, the city was so much bigger than St. Petersburg. Sadly, he didn’t have too much time to explore the city with their tight schedule. All the dancers were going to live on the campus of the school and most of the time was going to spend on training and dancing. 

The first day Yuuri had to register for courses, there were mandatory ballet and standard dance courses. Every student had to enroll at least to one optional class. Yuuri tried to come as early as possible to get enrolled to the most interesting ones. As he thought a lot of the other students also wanted to enter the break-dancing classes. The administration decided to let every interested student put their name down for the class and later they would draw by lot who could attend the class. 

Because there was a possibility that Yuuri couldn’t go to this type of class he had to enroll for another one just to be on the safe side. Most classes were already filled so he had to enroll in pole dancing. He didn’t even understand why such a class was offered at such a prestigious school in the first place. He just hoped he got into the break-dancing class. 

Later that day they had their first ballet class. There were a lot of dancers from all over the world. Most of them were female Betas or Omegas and only a small amount were male Betas, male Alphas or even female Alphas. By the looks of it Yuuri seemed to be the only male Omega in the bunch of dancers. Yuuri wasn’t sure if that was intimidating or just a bad thing in general. 

The class itself was fun as they were trained in a different style than the one Yuuri was practicing every day. The Russian ballet Yuuri practiced belongs to the Classical ballet style. It focused most on their foot work, especially on the pointe technique, in which the ballet dancers shift the body weight on the tip of the fully extended feet, which requires specially designed pointe shoes. Another important factor in classical ballet are jumps. Ballet dancers try to achieve ballon, where it seems the dancer floats effortlessly through the air. 

Now Yuuri was introduced to the Neoclassical ballet style. This style heavily uses the techniques of the Classical ballet style but tries to remove the theatrical or dramatic style of the later. The Neoclassical ballet style uses a lot of the abstract and tries to be more simplistic. The new-found freedom shows in the choice of music, minimalistic settings and costumes and more artistic stories. 

Yuuri enjoyed the new freedom and bolder movements. He had fun portraying different characters in his dance than usual. As the new style of ballet was faster than his old one he and his fellow students from Lilia-sensei were more exhausted than usual after training. 

Instead of joining the gathering of the different students Yuuri went to his room to relax. He thought he could join them later when he wasn’t so exhausted. But his plan didn’t work as he fell asleep immediately he was laying on his bed. 

Thankfully he woke up before his pole-dancing classes started. Luck wasn’t on his side as he didn’t get to join the break-dancing classes. And now he had to hurry to not be late to such a ridiculous class. 

Grumpy he made it to his class. He felt like everybody there could see that he just woke up and still hadn’t eaten lunch. Lilia-sensei would be disappointed to see him like this, Yuuri thought guiltily. 

The class itself was surprisingly fun. At first, they began with strength training and other fitness exercises. Slowly they approached their first spin on the pole. Later on, they were going to learn climbs and inversions as well. The aim of the class was to have a little choreography at the end of the month and also to feel more comfortable and confident in their body. 

Some days later Yuuri got the message that some dancers decided to leave the break-dancing classes so that he could attend them as well if he wanted to. He decided to check the classes out at least. The class was interesting but not as much fun for him than pole-dancing. He still decided to join them as all classes were free after all and Yuuri wanted to make the most of the whole program. 

He focused mostly on the dancing aspect of the exchange and didn’t talk much with the other dancers. Others on the other hand used their time to network. He even heard that Natasha who of course was their as well as Lilia’s best student fall in love with an American male Alpha. They shortly became the hottest pair in the whole program and accordingly the hottest topic between the students. 

On the other side of the spectrum was Yuuri. As he wasn’t very sociable rumors started to spread that he thought himself better than anybody else because of his designation. Which of course was total bullshit that everybody who knew Yuuri would recognize as it. But it didn’t help that he wasn’t really acquainted with the others. 

One day during lunch Yuuri was sitting again alone in one corner somebody suddenly sat down in front of him. The young male Beta had tan skin and black hair. His eyes were dark grey. He seemed friendly and cheerful as he sat before Yuuri. He was way younger than most of the other students. 

“Hi. I’m Phichit Chulanont. I am 15 years old and I am staying in America to become a successful figure skater. Since I was small and saw the movie “The King and The Skater” I wanted to stand on the ice. Did you ever saw it?” The boy introduced himself excitedly. 

Yuuri was stunned by the behavior of the skater and surprised by the cheerfulness of the stranger. “Um… no, I never saw this movie before.”, he answered automatically without thinking clearly. 

Phichit looked somehow disappointed by his answer but gladly started to retell the story of the movie and how much it meant to him. The Beta started to babble excitedly but Yuuri still had so many questions to him. He wanted to ask them all at once but also he didn’t want to interrupt the other one rudely. So, he waited patiently with his questions however there was never a chance for Yuuri to butt in, because the other one never really stopped talking. 

As Phichit started to tell him about the musical performances in the movie in great detail and how he wanted to be the first Thai figure skater to dance to this music, Yuuri was getting impatient. He couldn’t wait any longer. 

“Umm… excuse me, but do we know each other?” Yuuri asked confused. He knew it sounded probably bad to ask for an introduction after the Beta already talked for such a long time. 

“Oh, no. I just saw you several times during ballet practice. I thought your skills are very impressive. Most of the times though when you are not training, you are sitting alone by yourself. So, I wanted to talk to you but Ciao-Ciao didn’t let me. He was worried that I would annoy you which is stupid, right?” Phichit just smiled and he didn’t seem offended by the question. 

“But aren’t you too young to attend this ballet program?” Yuuri wondered. 

“Yes, but I don’t belong to the same class as you. My coach just thought it would be good for me to learn to dance for my performances on the ice. We just happen to be here at the same time as you guys. They even let me sometimes watch the main classes. The skill levels some of these people have is really impressive. But to be honest you are the one I remembered the most. So, I just wanted to talk to you.” Phichit seemed honest and friendly as he talked. 

Yuuri smiled after hearing his reasoning. Encouraged by his smile Phichit started to talk again about figure skating and even about his hamsters. Yuuri didn’t know how they got to this theme in their conversation. When Phichit’s coach finally came around, who was really called Celestino and not Ciao-Ciao, which was Phichit’s nickname for his coach, they said their goodbyes but promised to meet again the next day. 

From then on Yuuri and Phichit started to eat lunch together. Through their time together both started to get to know each other better. Phichit was a kind person and loved to talk about anything at all. Everyday Phichit seemed to be excited to see him. During their time together Yuuri even learned some basic Thai words, which Phichit thought would be fun to teach him. 

After a while Phichit started to even come to some dance classes. As he wasn’t part of the dance program he was prohibited to join the dancers but everybody was fine with the adorable teenage boy watching them dance. It was impressive that the boy had somehow the talent to make everyone around him like him immediately. Yuuri was a little bit jealous about this skill. 

As the two continued to spend more time with each other Yuuri started to slowly realize how much admiration was in Phichit’s eyes whenever he saw him dance. He loved to see him move to the music no matter what style of dance. Phichit even watched some of his pole-dancing lessons. It was fun to be around the younger boy but Yuuri just didn’t want to disappoint him in any way. He didn’t want to see any of that light in his eyes to disappear. Yuuri just knew he wanted to give his best. 

Before Phichit had to left the two promised to take a picture together. Phichit liked to take pictures and to secure memorable events on photo. They also promised to stay in contact. 

At the end of the month Yuuri was happy with his training. He had a lot of fun but at the end there was still a little performance he almost forgot. They trained for it the last whole week. Yuuri was excited to show off his new learned skills. All the teachers involved were going to see them dance. 

They were going to dance Argon. The ballet has no real story but it is more abstract. The dance is heavily influenced by the music and its idiomatic style. The performance consists of interactions between different groups of changing sizes of ballet dancers. They didn’t dance the whole ballet as it was rather long but they focus on the part with rather large groups. Yuuri was even given an important female role in on of the performances, which he was proud of. 

After the successful performance the ballet teachers praised them all for their hard work. One of the teachers after a heartfelt speech wanted to talk to Yuuri on his own. He wanted to talk about his future. He started with again praising Yuuri’s skill and his resolve while practicing. But he wanted to warn him as well. Even with Yuuri’s talent in ballet it would be hard for him to become a professional danseur. He was after all a male Omega and he danced very feminine. He wouldn’t be able to dance the parts normally casted by male Betas or Alphas. The roles of a prince or a warrior wouldn’t be casted to a male Omega. 

But the roles normally casted by female Betas or female Omegas would be hard to get for Yuuri. These roles of princesses or otherwise female protagonist weren’t usually played by male Omegas. His teacher wanted to remind Yuuri to not be too sad if his wish wouldn’t come true. He believed that Yuuri wasn’t able to get the lead role in a bigger ballet company. He was sure he still could have a future in ballet. Yuuri could become a choreographer or do other stuff behind the scene was sure. 

These words hurt Yuuri immensely. Since he was small it was all he ever wanted to stand on the big stage and dance. But now it should be refused to him just because of his designation. It was unfair. Yuuri knew he could do it. What did this teacher know? Perhaps it was finally the right time for a male Omega as a prima ballerina. He just needed to impress the right person to give him his well-deserved chance. 

 

Yuuri left America with good and bad memories, but more importantly with a new-found friendship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry this chapter took so long. For a long time I wasn't happy with this chapter and where it was going. I thought a long time about the plot of it but also of the whole fanfic. This thinking resulted in me writing the next chapter before finishing this one, which means next chapter will be out soon after I read it again and perhaps changing some stuff for the flow of the whole story. I am a bad writer when it comes to writing in a chronological order. 
> 
> I am now happy with this chapter which is why I am finally posting something again. The plot for the next chapters until chapter 10 is already planned and has to be only written by me. We will see how this goes from here.  
> I can't wait to introduce Victor finally soon into this work... 
> 
> As always all mistakes are mine and I hope you had fun reading.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuri Plisetsky POV
> 
> It's not that he hated moving to St. Petersburg to be trained in figure skating. It's not like he missed his grandfather.  
> But why did Yakov think it was a good idea that he had to also learn ballet and why the hell does the cute, handsome, Asian Omega the same name as him (and why doesn't it bother him as much as he claims it does?!)

Yuri Plisetsky always knew he was made to stand on the ice from the first moment his grandfather put him on there from a very young age. The feeling of succeeding to stand on the ice without falling or the feeling of his first rotation on the ice made Yuri addicted to ice skating. When he finally got discovered for his talent he was ten years old. And it wasn't just somebody that recognized his skill and his incredible talent. No, it was Yakov Feltsman, the trainer of Victor Nikiforov. Victor was the living legend of figure skating and also of course Yuri's idol. He always wanted to skate like him in the future. He watched Victor since he was little and even remembered a little bit of the time when he was still in the junior division. His rise to fame and to the top of figure skating impressed him immensely. One day he wanted to beat the living legend himself. He would do everything in order to be even better than Victor Nikiforov. So, to be recognized by Victor's trainer was a huge booster for his confidence. But to be completely honest Yuri always knew he would be discovered by someone sooner or later. 

Yakov purposed that Yuri should move to St. Petersburg to further his training, which meant Yuri had to leave his family behind in Moscow. Well his family only consisted of his grandfather, Nikolai Plisetsky. As he was told by his grandfather, his good-for-nothing father left his mother before he was even born and left with the money of his mother. His mother, which he barely knew, left when he was still at a young age in order for her to work abroad to compensate for the problems his so-called father left behind for them to fix on their own. None of the adults in his life explained exactly where she was working and what she was doing. But from what he understood as a young child they had a lot of money problems. 

Since then Yuri was living with his grandfather in a rather modest household. He had a loving relationship with Nikolai Pliesetsky who raised him with a lot of love. He watched over his figure skating training and was always there to cheer him on in competitions. Whenever Yuri felt down or lonely his grandfather would make him his favorite food, pirozhki. He thought his grandfather made the best pirozhki in the whole wide world. There could never be better ones than these of his grandpa. 

Because of his strong love for ice skating and his love for his grandfather Yuri decided to move to St. Petersburg to train under the guidance of Yakov. If Yakov helped Victor Nikiforov reach the status he nowadays had what would he capable of doing with Yuri's raw talent and good skills. He was certain that he could make a good living with figure skating. He knew people said that you should do stuff like sports only for the fun of it or the passion you felt for the sport. But what was so bad on the fact that he could also be making a lot of money with the one thing he loved the most. Especially if he could help his beloved grandfather to live the life he deserved with his passion. 

So, it was quickly decided that Yuri was moving to St. Petersburg for figure skating at the age of ten. He would stay at a dormitory and Yakov would function as his guardian in St. Petersburg as he was still a minor. 

The first time he stepped into his new home rink in St. Petersburg he was completely overwhelmed. The rink here was so much bigger and more professional than where he trained before at home in Moscow. Yakov's training style was also very different from his former training. Yakov was stricter and more professional. Yuri could feel that his new coach expected from him his very best at every training session. There was no time for slack at all with Yakov as his coach. His impression of the older Alpha didn't change when he watch him interact with the other figure skaters. 

His new rink mates were more different than he had expected. He thought he would just have to share his training space with boring and strict adults but as things turned out that wasn't true. One of his new rink mates were the 12-year-old girl Mila Babicheva. She was also a singles figure skater and was currently unpresented. She had shorter red wavy hair and striking beautiful blue eyes. In Yuri's first opinion she seemed like a person that could be fun to be around. He saw her always making jokes and teasing the other skaters, which resulted in Yakov often shouting at her for not concentrating hard enough during training. 

Another rink mate was Georgi Popovich. He was also a singles skater and was already competing in the senior division. He had short black hair and blue eyes as Mila. He was tall and slightly muscular as it was common for his designation as an Alpha. When Yuri didn't see Georgi train seriously he would always want to talk about his "perfect" girlfriend, Anya. After only some sentences about her Yuri started to block his talk out completely. He didn't know what was so great about even having a girlfriend or an Omega. He thought figure skating was much cooler and more important than any of that crap. 

Last but not least there was Victor Nikiforov himself, Yuri's big idol. He couldn't wait to finally meet him and see him train live in person. On the day Victor was going to show up for training Yuri was so excited that he almost couldn't sleep the entire night before. He went to the rink earlier than it was expected from him and was waiting on the ice for Victor to finally show up. As he finally showed up Victor was an hour too late for training and when he stood on the ice he wasn't taking his training serious at all. Most of the time he was doing things on his phone or playing around with their rink mates until Yakov started screaming at Victor again. It seemed everyone was already used to his antics and behavior. 

Not even once did Yuri saw Victor train seriously that day. How could such a person be the best at figure skating? How could he have idolized such type of person at all? It felt like the perfect picture Yuri had of Victor started to crumble slowly. But with Victor not being perfect came actually a huge chance for Yuri. If Victor really wanted to rely only on his pure talent than he would never expect to be dethroned one day. Yuri just had to work harder than Victor, which was relatively easy, and everybody else in the figure skating world and he would become the new king of figure skating. 

 

With his new-found resolution Yuri worked even harder than before. He trained so long that his feet would hurt and occasionally even bleed. But of course, he would never tell Yakov as he would prohibit his excessive training style, even though nobody could deny that Yuri was making major improvements. Which was why Yakov next request came out of nowhere at least for Yuri. 

Yakov wanted him to take some hours off on the weekend to learn ballet. Yakov wanted him to focus and learn something else besides figure skating. Yuri couldn't understand this decision at all. Why would he need to learn ballet in the first place? Yuri didn't care about dancing. He could win every competition if his skills were perfect which would result in high technical points and his routines had to only have a high difficulty. Who cared about performance or such things? 

Yuri felt like he could use his time more productively if he didn't have to spend his weekends with Yakov's ex-wife Lilia Baranovskaya. But nobody ever asked him about his opinions. Lilia was a Beta. Thankfully the two never bothered with things like mating or else the separation would have gone really badly. This meant a divorce for them were in the realm of possibility because mating after all was meant to be forever and so much harder to break. Lilia and Yakov could still maintain a professional relationship between them. 

When he first met Lilia, she looked over him critically. It felt like she was trying to measure his skill levels by just looking at him. Yuri didn't really know what to think about her. As Lilia started to turn his head left and right she finally started to talk. 

"He has a nice face. He seems to be healthy and in a good condition. I could make him into prima ballerina." Lilia assessed him. 

"WHAT? I don't want to be a prima ballerina. I want to become the next top figure skater!" Yuri exclaimed. 

"But I can show you what real beauty is in dancing. It could become your crushing force as a figure skater. Strength means nothing without beauty in ballet and figure skating!" Lilia responded. 

Lilia showed him the way to a training room in her ballet studio. The next hour she tried to teach him the basics of ballet. Yuri just hated it. His body wasn't supposed to flex in anyway Lilia wanted him to do. It felt more like torture than training. How could anyone do ballet for fun? After the hour she wanted him to take a 20 min break and relax his muscles. Meanwhile Lilia wanted to talk to Yakov who stayed to watch his ballet lesson closely. Yuri knew that this would be perfect time for him to try to flee from this hellhole of a ballet studio. 

Sadly, he didn't pay attention on how he got to the ballet room in the first place. So, he was aimlessly wandering around until he heard music from one of the other ballet rooms. The music had an upbeat feeling to it with its fast tempo. The focus of the song was heavily on the guitar and the violin. Altogether the song had a Latin feeling to it. Intrigued to hear such a song in a ballet studio Yuri opened the door to the room silently where the music came from. 

The picture that greeted him there was almost as intriguing as the music if not even more. In the middle of the room was a man dancing ballet to the song. He had black hair and wore black pants and a blue shirt. The way he moved to the song was elegant but also so sexually alluring. It was like the man knew he was the most beautiful person in the room that could even make the most notorious bachelor or playboy fall for him. Yuri had to admit it was breathtaking to watch the person dance. The longer he stood and watch, slowly he could also smell the scent coming of the man. Apparently, he was a male Omega, which wasn't heard of much in the ballet industry. 

When the song came to an end Yuri wanted to clap for the Omega but on the other hand he didn't want to be a creep who watched the entire performance of a stranger without them knowing. Before Yuri could walk out of the room Lilia already found him. 

"Ah here you are Yuri." she said. 

The Omega turned around and smiled at the two intruders. 

"The break is still not over!" Yuri answered angrily being found by Lilia. 

"Oh, Lilia-sensei, I didn't hear you come in." the Omega responded at the same time as Yuri. 

Lilia started to smile strangely at them. "Hmmm. Two Yuris… We can't have that." She looked at Yuri intensely and pointed to him. "I think we are going to start calling you Yura and Yuuri can keep his name." 

The other Yuuri looked surprised to the beta and the child, while Lilia's word slowly settled in for Yuri. What a coincidence that the Omega and him would share the same name. 

"What? Why can't I keep my name and the other one can get a nickname. Or he can just go away. There is no need for two Yuri's here. I am going to be the future of figure skating and I don't need to get associated with him just because we share the same name. You are already too old and still didn't make a name for yourself. That just shows how untalented you really are." Yuri almost screamed at the other Yuuri. 

Sometimes Yuri himself didn't understand why he would get angry all the time. It was hard for him to show his real feelings to the people around him, especially to the people the closest to him. For Yuri it was just easier to be angry than show any of the other feelings. His anger always helped him get his point across when the adults didn't want to listen to him again. But his anger also helped him to keep other people at a distance. Most people didn't bother to try to see behind his facade of rage and see his true self. He was just like a kitten, which always at first would hiss but in reality, was just a sweet little kitten that wanted to be pet and get some love. 

The same could be said to this situation. Did Yuri really hate his new nickname or the fact that the Omega and him shared the same first name? No, of course not. It was just a ridiculous accident. Yuri was still unsure whether it was a good thing or not but he was sure it was wrong of him to offend the other Yuuri like that. He could see it in the way the Omega stood and, in his eyes, how much his words really hurt him. 

"Is he the new student you talked about Lilia-sensei? If yes, then I probably should go like Yuri said as I don't want to interrupt your lesson in any way." Yuuri said while trying and failing to show a convincing smile to them. 

What had Yuri done? He didn't want him to look like that. Was Yuuri really going to take his stupid rambling to heart. Shouldn't he know how amazing he really was? He started to panic internally, he never meant to hurt somebody's feelings. 

"Yes, this is my ex-husband's newest figure skater and we both decided he should learn ballet. I really think you should come with us Yuuri. He could really benefit from you. What I have seen during training let me to the decision he could need all the help he could get." Lilia responded and started to make her way back to the other training room Yuri and she were in before meeting Yuuri. 

As the little group made their way back, Yakov was positively surprised to see Yuuri between them as well. 

"Yuuri is going to join the training. I think it would be good for both of them. On one hand Yuuri gets experience on teaching ballet and helping beginners. On the other hand, Yura can observe another professional ballet dancer." 

With these words Lilia started the rest of the training. Her way of teaching was strict and it demanded all of Yuri's concentration. There was no way for him to talk or even apologize to the other Yuuri, who helped whenever he needed assistance and was overall just a nice person to be around. He never treated him less just because Yuri was still a child. 

Sadly, after training Yuri didn't get a chance to talk either. The Omega just left quietly out of the room. Yuri felt guilty for saying these things which meant he had to keep going to ballet training to finally get a chance to apologize. 

Apologizing to Yuuri was harder than he thought. He went to the ballet lessons on the weekend for a month now but Yuuri somehow always dodged talking about their first interaction with each other. Over the month the two Yuri's got to know each other better. Yuri learned that the ballet dancer had the dream to become one of the best ballet dancers of the world since he was little. For that dream he even moved from Japan to Russia. In one way or another Yuri could understand the older one as they were in a similar situation. He could empathize with him. 

He also started to understand how shy and self-conscious he really was. Yuuri sometimes didn't believe in himself and always thought the worst of himself. Yuri found it kind of silly that such a skilled and talented person couldn't see himself in the right light. Everything Yuri found missing in his big idol Victor Nikiforov he could find in this cute, shy and self-aware Omega. After months of training with Yuuri he found himself idolizing Yuuri. He even started to like ballet because of him and wanted to become better, not that he would ever tell somebody about his reasons of taking ballet seriously. That would be just embarrassing. 

But without the clarifying conversation Yuri still felt guilty around the ballet dancer. One time after training Yuri mustered up all his courage to talk and apologize to Yuuri. 

"I… I wanted to say sorry for the horrible things I said to you when we just met." Yuri rambled as he could bring himself to look at Yuuri. 

"Oh. I wasn't expecting to hear an apology from you." Yuuri answered surprised. 

"WHAT? Because you think like the others that I am just an obnoxious brat. Even I have manners. Perhaps I shouldn't have tried to be nice to you." the child screamed angrily. 

"No, of course not. But Yurio everybody knows that sometimes you can be mean, even if you don't mean it. But normally you don't apologize for your behavior. There are times where you are actually proud of it. In some special occasions you apologize to someone you respect or even like. Sometimes you apologize because you went too far. We both know the latter didn't apply to our situation. You just lashed around then. I shouldn't have taken it to heart. 

Which means you wanted to apologize because I am important to you. You are like a cat that hisses and sometimes even scratches but to the important people in your life you are like a harmless, cuddly kitten. I am just amazed how soon you showed this side to me. To tell the truth I wasn't sure if you would ever show this side to me at all." Yuuri explained with a warm smile. 

Yuri started to blush by the words of the other one. He didn't think Yuuri would be able to see through him so completely. In one way it was embarrassing how well he could read him but on the other side it was nice to be understood by the Omega he saw as his role model. 

"Wait… Yurio?" 

Yuuri chuckled shortly. "It's not every time you met somebody with your same name in a foreign country. So, I talked to my family about you. My sister found it confusing to talk about two Yuri's and she started to refer to you as Yurio, which kind of stuck with me." 

"Whatever. But my name is Yuri not Yurio." he grumbled. Yuri didn't want to admit that he liked the new nickname he was given by Yuuri's family. He only allowed him to use it and would vehemently complain to others about it. 

After the long awaiting talk Yuuri invited Yurio to get some food together. Together with the ballet dancer's dog, which was a little poodle that suspiciously looked like Victor's poodle, they made their way to a Japanese restaurant. Yuuri liked going there when he missed his mother's home cooked meals. 

The restaurant was apparently recording to the Omega fairly traditional. Yuuri searched in the entire city for a good Japanese restaurant before he found this one. He even liked the way they made his favorite dish there. Through he still liked to ramble on how much better his mother would make it and whenever they were in Japan Yuri had to try it there. 

As two pork cutlet bowls were stood before them, Yuuri immediately started to bolted the bowl of Katsudon down and didn't concentrate on anything else beside his favorite dish. Between bites Yuri sometimes could hear moans from his new friend. Seeing how Yuuri enjoyed the food he thought to give it a try as well. After the first bite he completely understood Yuuri's obsession with the food. He could see himself only eating pirozhki and Katsudon for the rest of his life. He would be perfectly fine with that.

After the meal Yuri started to call the older ballet dancer Katsudon. After all he allowed him to call him by that stupid nickname Yurio so he should at least be also allowed to come up with a name for him. 

One day Yakov and all his athletes was invited to an ice dancing show. Victor was supposed to collect Yuri from his ballet training so that they could go to the show together. As always Victor didn't show up when he was supposed to. Yuri was waiting after training for almost a half hour before Lilia's studio. When he was fed up with waiting he stormed back in to Lilia's office room. 

He asked Lilia if perhaps she could drive him to the show as Victor was still nowhere to be found. The responsible adult that Lilia was she naturally offered her help and would drive him there. Before they could leave she had to tell Yuuri to lock the studio up when he was done with training. As the two made their way to one of the training rooms they found Victor wandering around. When Yuri wanted to yell at him for being late again, he could see a light blush on his face. Victor seemed like he didn't listen at all at Yuri's rightful and wrathful speech and rather had his mind filled with something else. Angrily Yuri took Victor's arm and hurried together to the ice dance show. 

At one of Yuri's junior competitions in Moscow he invited Yuuri to watch him skate. Yuri was pissed that Yakov forbade him from using any quads in his performances. He was still a junior and was still growing. Yakov was just concerned of his well-being. Yuri on the other hand was just pissed. He knew he could land the quads even in a competition. Yakov was fiercely against it and thought he could definitely win even without the more complex jumps. 

So, Yuri had to downgrade the jumps to triples. His performance otherwise was perfect which meant he won the first place in the competition. But all in all, Yuri wasn't completely happy. He knew if he wanted to win in the senior division as well he needed to get way better than he already was. He definitely needed a choreography that was unique and demanding. 

With these thoughts in his head he met with Yuuri who was watching the whole competition. 

"You were amazing Yurio. Congratulations on winning!" Yuuri said cheerfully.

"I could have been better. I need to be better for the senior division." Yuri responded and sighed deeply. 

"Hmm… I know you will become better and better over the next years but perhaps you just need a different kind of program for your senior debut. I watched your different performances and they have a lot in common. How about you try to surprise your audience and fans?" Yuuri wondered out loud. 

With these words a brilliant idea formed in Yuri's head. The other was right. In the years leading up to his senior debut he could perfect his quads but what he really needed was the best possible program which had to be even better than Victor Nikiforov's. As he looked at Yuuri he knew exactly who to ask for such a choreography. 

"I want you do come up with my program for my senior division debut in some years!" he exclaimed happily. 

Yuuri looked surprised by the demands of the younger boy. But he was immediately intrigued by the idea and started to think on possible music choices and themes that would be unexpected for Yuri. 

With new found resolve Yuuri nodded his head and answered him, "Okay, I will choreograph you the best program I can come up with."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had so much fun writing this chapter. I think it is good interruption of the normal plot to see Yuri. Also I really think Yuri would like it much more if he could introduce himself personally. 
> 
> I would like to change the POV once in a while. Please tell me what you guys would think about the idea.   
> Well there will definitely be a Victor's POV chapter, which will be a big chapter and probably the hardest to write. But that is in the future. 
> 
> I hope you guys liked the chapter and all mistakes are mine as always.   
> P.S. There probably won't be another update so soon.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> his life as an unemployed ballet dancer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning (I guess?):   
> There slight depictions of Yuuri's anxiety and some form of depression (perhaps?)
> 
> I seriously don't know how these work but I thought better an unnecessary warning then a forgotten one.   
> I don't know enough about mental health (sadly) that I could call the state of Yuuri in one part of this chapter depression without any insecurities. I am sorry for these vague statements.   
> P.S. I changed the rating of this fic to be one the safe side.

After Yuuri's stay in America, he was more motivated than ever to prove everyone wrong. He had to make it in ballet, that was all he had in his mind. So, he started to go to castings more and more. He sent out his resume together with a tape of him dancing to several well-known ballet companies in Russia. At first, he restricted his efforts to Russia, where he currently still lived. 

With every rejection he got send back Yuuri started to feel worse and worse. In the beginning he tried to forget them as soon as possible and he just kept going forward. For every rejection he sent out twice as much new resumes. But after months and months of only rejections Yuuri’s feeling and confidence started to take a big blow. 

His determination still didn’t waver, which paid off eventually. After a year of sending out tapes he got a simple role in a smaller ballet ensemble in St. Petersburg. Yuuri was just happy to see a positive message getting back to him. 

As the role wasn’t really big he wasn’t introduced much into the new ensemble. It seemed like the original cast of ballet dancers knew each other very well but they were also used to having varying background dancers. 

The whole production was small and didn’t require much training for Yuuri and the other new ballet dancers. Sadly, he rather soon realized that the ensemble didn’t had much money, which was why they didn’t hire many dancers for regularly appearances and they relied on beginners fresh from ballet schools. 

Even though the production wouldn’t get Yuuri a job for a long period of time he still believed the experiences he would gain there would help him eventually find a ballet company willing to hire him. He decided to give his all in the performances where he would be seen. Nobody was going to say that he didn’t at least show his best efforts there. 

After this one performance it was time to send letters out again and to wait for responses. With the feeling of finally standing on the stage it was even worse to stop dancing again. He felt like he was being shunt aside. 

Yuuri fought against the feeling of frustration with training. Now that he was 19 he didn’t join any official classes of Lilia-sensei anymore. She felt that there was nothing essential to teach his class any more, they were ready for the whole wide world of dancing. Of course, she offered everybody that didn’t immediately find work subsequently to still train by themselves at her studio. She didn’t want any of her students to lose their fitness or their form. Yuuri wasn’t the only one who accepted her offer. There were some few female Betas that also still trained at Lilia’s ballet studio. 

When ballet wasn’t enough anymore to keep his anxiety in check he was at home and danced, where nobody could see him, where nobody could judge his dance skills. His anxiety came back in full force with his increased worries about his future. Before he got better with battling against his panic. He had Vicchan that would always be able to bring a smile on his face instantly. He was the best at raising his mood. Sometimes it felt like a miracle to have the little dog by his side. He definitely didn’t deserve him. Yuuri also had a lot of people looking after him. He had a social safety net he could fall back on. Even his family and friends from Japan had an ear open for him all the time. But now with the huge amount of rejections, he was getting, he felt like he couldn’t tell anybody about it without disappointing them as well. How could he tell his family that spent so much money on him, his friends that always rooted for him or his ballet teachers who both spent so much time with him that he was just a big failure? 

Every time Yuuri came home from his little ballet training at Lilia-sensei’s studio he found new rejection letters at his door. He didn’t even bother anymore with opening them. He just knew from the weight of the letters that they sent his tapes back to him. On his desk, usually used for homework and learning before, were now too many letters to even count. He opened them only to reuse the tapes for another chance he probably wouldn’t even get. 

Worst of it all whenever he came home Vicchan was waiting for him at the door and would look at him lovingly even though he felt like shit. Nowadays Yuuri didn’t bother anymore to take the dog with him to his short training. Why would he? He spent so little time there that it didn’t make sense to worry about the dog as well. 

The only thing Yuuri enjoyed doing at home was dancing. His apartment in St. Petersburg was his home for three years. Now with 19, no job and not much training he stayed home most of the time. It was completely boring. What was he supposed to do? The apartment didn’t look as sparse anymore than in the beginning. But with his posters and all the pictures of his friends and family around him 24/7 he missed Japan more and more. As a consequence, he started to think of the possibility to just move back to them. What was holding him back anymore? He could be unsuccessful back home in Japan as well. 

Thanks to his many calls with Phichit and his persuasive nature Yuuri admitted how much he actually liked and missed pole dancing. After Phichit’s many suggestions of getting his own pole he finally surrendered and bought one. With the pole standing in his living room Yuuri had enough room to dance around the pole freely. When he was on the pole he could almost see every angle of his apartment. He could see in his bedroom when the door was open and into the kitchen. 

Sometimes when Yuuri was upside down on the pole it was the only times he could see his live clearly. He could see how dirty and unkept his home really was, how many dishes were left dirty on his kitchen counter, how he didn’t really cook anymore and lived through take-out which clearly had his repercussion on his health, how there was even some dog poop laying around because he didn’t went outside enough with Vicchan. But did he actually care about any of it? No, it was a fitting world for a loser like him. 

When Yuuri was on the pole and just was lifted in the air, he could imagine that the time wasn’t moving the same way he wasn’t moving. Sometimes Yuuri wished his life would move somewhere. Even some steps back would be better than this state he was in right now. 

One day after coming home from an unsuccessful ballet training session Yuuri didn’t even bother to eat something. He just went straight to bed. He fell asleep immediately. He didn’t know how long he slept. When he woke up it was pitch dark outside. He kept laying in bed and just looked at the ceiling. Sometime later he fell asleep again. As he didn’t set the alarm he just kept sleeping. He didn’t move from the bed. His feeling for time seemed to become messed up. It felt like he could be laying there for hours, days or even months. He didn’t know anymore…  
..  
.  
Black.  
…  
..  
.  
White.  
…  
..  
.  
Black.  
…  
..  
.  
Yellow. 

He heard a dog bark…  
Where was this dog and why didn’t his owner look after it? 

The first time Yuuri looked to the side and away from the ceiling for a long time he saw his dog Vicchan barking at him. Why was he doing that? Yuuri was confused. He didn’t do anything wrong in fact he didn’t do anything. 

As he focused on the dog his vision seemed to take in more and more of his home. In a slight distance he could hear someone bang on his door. Who would do something like that?

“Go away!” Yuuri screamed at the stranger from his bed. He wasn’t ready for the outside world. 

Suddenly the knocks on his door stopped and with them Vicchan stopped barking. The dog just looked sadly at his beloved owner. Not bearing the looks of his poodle Yuuri turned his back on him. He thought he could just fell asleep again with the new-found silence. 

But apparently this wasn’t the plan of the universe. Sudden his front door was broken open forcefully. Yuuri was startled from his bed and looked in the direction of the door. In the now opened door stood a very angry Yuri. He was panting with the effort of breaking his door. 

Angrily Yuri looked at the state of his home and made his way to Yuuri’s bedroom. 

“What are you doing in your bed and why is your apartment so dirty? You were supposed to help me today with ballet training! You promised me you would come! BUT now I had to experience these lessons from HELL all on my own. When I asked Lilia about you she said you didn’t come to the studio yesterday as well. She was worried about you. So, I promised to look after you.” Yuri ranted at the other Yuuri. 

Yuuri didn’t know how to respond. Why would Yuri care about someone like him so much that he would even come to his home? 

“Are you not going to say anything? Not even apologize to me? Especially when I came all the way to your home. You should be more grateful that I came here to drag your sorry ass out of your bed. God when was the last time you showered? You smell awful.” Yuri started to push him out of bed. 

“Stop. What are you doing? I don’t want to leave the bed!” Yuuri murmured. 

“But you have to shower! You have ballet training Monday and you can’t just come in the state you are in right now. Yuuri, you are letting yourself go. You have to become fit again. Lilia said she found some new ballet companies that want to hire ballet dancers. They never going to hire you the way you are right now. Come on!” 

This was the last Yuuri wanted to hear. New opportunities would just result in more rejections and he wasn’t sure how much more he could endure. 

“I am never going to dance ballet again! I know that nobody wants to hire me anyway. So, it makes more sense to just quit!” He screamed. 

Surprised by Yuuri’s frustration and anger Yuri just froze where he stood. He never before saw the Omega in such a state. Yuuri normally was just friendly, sweet and peacefully. 

With wide eyes he responded, “FINE! Then lay here and rot in your own self-pity! I don’t care. There is no need for a crybaby in the ballet world and there is definitely no need for two Yuri’s in Lilia’s studio. I will become the best figure skater in the whole world even without you! I don’t need a program from someone like you. I don’t need you!” 

As he turned to leave the apartment Yuri stopped to pick up the toy poodle.

“You know what, Vicchan doesn’t deserve to stay in a place like this, even if he is just a stupid dog. You should have gotten a cat. They are so much better!” 

Yuuri watched the two leave his home and he heard the door close. The sound of the closing door was loud to his ear. Just like that he lost his friend and his passion. No more dancing. What was he supposed to do now? He would never see Yuri again. No talk about figure skating. No stories about Yakov and his rink mates. And worst of all no more Vicchan. His lovely little companion just left his life. In a matter of seconds his whole life crumbled down in front of him. 

 

 

Suddenly Yuuri jumped from his bed. Perhaps if he run he could still catch Yuri and Vicchan before they were completely gone. 

As he charged for his door and started to run down the corridor of the apartment complex he almost ran Yuri over. He was still indoors and was just going to climb down the stairs. Yuri didn’t look surprised to see him again. He still looked very angry. 

“Wait…” Yuuri panted. 

“I just… Don’t leave… Vicchan… Yurio…” he started to break down in the middle of the hallway. 

Yuri sighed and gave Vicchan back to his rightful owner. With an arm at his back he directed him back in his apartment. 

Back home both sat down on his fluffy and old couch. They didn’t mind some of the garbage laying on it. Yuuri pulled his leg on the couch as well. He made himself as small as possible while still cradling Vicchan. He just cried. The dog liked some of his tears away. Yuri didn’t say anything. He just sat next to him and let him cry as loud and ugly as he wanted to. 

When Yuuri started to get a grip on his emotions again he looked up at the other Yuri. He knew he deserved an explanation. So, he slowly started to confess how bad his situation really was. His rejections. His urge to dance. His doubt in his skills. His frustration. His disappointment. His fear to tell anybody. His homesickness. His loneliness. 

Yuri just listened and never interrupted him or found his anxiety stupid. He stubbornly didn’t change his expression the whole time and just observed him. 

“They are stupid if they don’t see your talent, Katsudon! You belong to the biggest stages in the world. You are better than them. You are even better than Lilia. You should become my ballet teacher. It would be way more fun to be taught by you than her. You definitely shouldn’t stop dancing.” Yuri said shyly. 

Yuuri smiled at his words. He knew Yuri didn’t praise someone lightly. He hated it to admit when somebody was better than him. He had so much confidence. Sometimes he wondered where all of it came from. But perhaps right now he could borrow a bit of Yuri’s confidence he was lacking desperately. 

He never thought about becoming a ballet teacher if he was true to himself. All he knew was that he wanted to keep dancing ballet. But wouldn’t it mean if he started to become a teacher he would never stand on a stage again. Wouldn’t it mean he had to bury his dream even before it even began? He voiced some of worries out loud for Yurio. 

“I don’t know. It’s not like you have to become a ballet teacher immediately. You can still wait and apply for ballet ensembles all over the world. I mean I just wanted to explain to you that you can have a future in ballet without becoming a big star or standing on the stage.” Yuri said without really looking at the older Omega. 

Perhaps he was right. He didn’t need to burry his dream right now. He still was young and had time to go for it. In the future he could become a teacher if he wanted. He could even move back to Japan to be closer to his family again. But before Yuuri could start thinking about his future he had to take care of himself right now. 

Yurio decided to stay and helped tidying up his home. After a well-needed shower, the two Yuri’s cooked together and went outside with Vicchan. Later at night the two shared Yuuri’s bed and slept next to each other. Yuri allowed the other to hold on to him for this night. 

It took Yuuri a while for him to bring his life back on track again. He started to jog together with his dog again and only ate home-made meals. Soon he could see his health getting better. Dancing was more fun for him again. When he finally started to sent out tapes again Yuuri was sure about his future. 

He gave himself three years. He was going to try to become a professional ballet dancer in these years. If he didn’t achieve his goal until then he would go back to Japan and become a teacher at Minako-sensei’s ballet studio. 

In these years Yuuri sent his tapes all over the world to different ballet companies. Meanwhile, he started to work at a supermarket in St. Petersburg. Yuuri didn’t want to spent all his free time alone with Vicchan at home. So, he thought a part-time job would be a good distraction. Another advantage of a job would be the money he was making there. With that money he could help his family. They didn’t need to send as much over anymore without school and the shrinking number of ballet lessons. 

Otherwise Yuuri tried his hand on teaching ballet at Lilia-sensei’s studio. His only experience before came from the lessons Yurio attended there. As he watched Lilia tried to teach him the basics but most of the time he was more amused than that he actually learned anything. So, he was happy for the chance to help Lilia teach her beginner class for small children. Helping young children was fun. They were all very excited to learn anything. His omegan nature helped him connecting with his students immediately. It was so fulfilling that he could see himself becoming a ballet teacher in the future. He could be happy with such an occupation. 

In the almost three years Yuuri mostly got rejections sent back. He got some small opportunities to dance ballet here and there but they never developed into more. Yuuri’s anxiety sometimes showed it’s face through all the negativity but after his talk with Yurio he never let it gain the upper hand again. He now was more comfortable to talk about negative stuff with his family and friends. 

He was 22 and his three years were almost over. Yuuri never made it. But he accepted the truth now. He stopped sending out tapes some weeks ago. He also spoke to Minako-sensei about moving back to Japan and starting to work for her. His family was sad that he never made it but they were still happy to see their son finally after all these years. One day Lilia asked Yuuri to come over to her office. She probably wanted to convince him again to stay in Russia. By now Yuuri and Lilia-sensei were a well-functioning team. She hated to see him leave. He also knew that Yurio was angry that he was going to leave before he even made his senior division debut. Yurio liked to remind him of his promise every chance he got. 

As he went into the office expecting the same talk he always got from Lilia, he wasn’t prepared for a surprise. Lilia got him into a casting for a big ballet company. Yuuri felt like he was in a dream. How could he get such an offer only weeks before he was going to leave Russia for all? As Lilia tried to explain to him how she got him this opportunity Yuuri couldn’t really listen to anything. He felt like he was underwater and his ear was full of water. Everything seemed strangely hollow. 

Lilia explained how her old ballet company, the Bolshoi Ballet, were searching for a new prima ballerina. Her old one was getting older and wanted to quit to start a family with her husband. She couldn’t dance while she was pregnant after all. The new choreographer wanted to do things unconventional. In his new version of Swan Lake, he wanted the lead to be a male Omega. As the Bolshoi Ballet currently didn’t have a male Omega employed, they were desperately searching for one. They were asking everywhere, even Lilia. She started to recommend Yuuri and gave them one of his tapes. Of course, they were interested in Yuuri and they ended up inviting him to the casting for the lead role. 

Yuuri didn’t really listened to the explanation in great detail but he still got the gist of it. He was still in shock that someone was interested in him and his ballet skills. He just nodded and slightly noticed the happiness in Lilia. 

When he left the office with the details of the casting written on a paper he still couldn’t believe his luck. On the wall on the opposite of the office were different pictures of former students of Lilia-sensei. She liked to frame the picture of her former students from their first real performance. On the wall were even some of Yuuri’s former classmates. Natasha was on the wall as well. Her picture showed her in the middle of being lifted by a broad and handsome alpha during her first performance at an American ballet company. As it turned out she fell in love with the American Alpha from the picture during their time at Julliard. The two were engaged, worked together and were just happy. All of her dreams came true and so much more. Would Yuuri soon be on the wall with a photo as well? 

On the day of the casting Yuuri was a mess. He decided to wait with his departure to Japan after the result of this casting. The opportunity was to big to let it slide. All his family and friends were keeping their fingers crossed for him. 

Yuuri knew this would probably be the last chance for him to make his childhood dream somehow come true. He always thought he would be okay with the turns his life took but now going to the theatre he just realized how much he really wanted to stand in the spotlight and dance. He had to give his best performance. No, he had to dance better than he ever did. 

Yuuri didn’t want to leave St. Petersburg with the feeling of unfulfillment. He never wanted to ask himself “What if…?”. As he finally made it to the Bolshoi Theatre he was brought to a room where a small number of male Omegas already sat around. They looked all very young and unexperienced, not that Yuuri was any better. The candidates were going to be called onto the stage where they were going to be asked some questions. Afterwards all of them were supposed to dance for a short time. 

He wasn’t lucky as he was supposed to step up as the last one. Most of the others looked afraid and very nervous. Yuuri felt the same way but he refused to show any of it on his face. He knew why he was there. He knew he was good. He could probably outdo any of the other male Omegas there, he was sure of it. This was going to be his chance! 

When the casting jury called his name Yuuri was completely calm for his potentially last performance on stage. They asked him at first some common questions. Why did he want to dance for the Bolshoi Ballet? Since when did he dance? Where did he learn to dance ballet? Did he have any prior experience as a ballet dancer? What did he find compelling in playing the lead role of Swan Lake? 

Yuuri didn’t remember answering the questions at all. But he remembered his performance so much clearer. He felt all his disappointment, his suppressed anger, his sadness and his spark of hope float into his performance. Afterwards he was exhausted and panting loudly. Slowly he looked into the faces of the casting jury. 

They looked surprised. Yuuri wasn’t sure whether this was good or bad. He didn’t know. They never clapped as they did for the other performances. One of them were noting something down. 

He knew he fucked up. He thought he could see it in their looks. Quickly he thanked them for letting him come and left the theatre. His last chance and he blew it. This was it. Yuuri was sure. As Lilia called to know how it went he told her. He just wanted to leave St. Petersburg and left anything behind. Lilia was able to change his mind to stay until the ballet company called to tell him their decision. 

So, he waited. As he was fed up with just sitting around and waiting for the inevitable ending of his career, he started to search for a one-way-ticket to Tokyo. Before he could book the flight his phone finally rang.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And a cliffhanger! 
> 
> Will Yuuri get the lead role in Swan Lake? Will we finally see Viktor in the next chapter or am I just keep going to hint at him? No but seriously Viktor will have his official debut next chapter! I can't wait for them to meet.
> 
> I was really happy to see the feedback the last chapter got. I will consider to make some POV changes in the future as well. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well even though it had a different tone then the ones before.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Yuuri meets Victor...

He got the lead role. The Bolshoi Ballet wanted him, good old Yuuri, as their prima ballerina. He couldn’t believe it. He thanked them on the phone and then hung up. 

It took Yuuri some minutes until he could realize what he just heard. He closed his laptop and forgot about buying a plane ticket back to Japan. He stood up and walked around his apartment. Vicchan started to follow him around. The dog probably thought they were going outside for a walk together soon and got excited. 

The moment the realization started to sink in for him he abruptly stopped walking. His sudden stop caused Vicchan to butt against his human. The dog was shaking his head as Yuuri turned around and picked him up. As Yuuri started to slowly spin around himself, he said to himself over and over, “I am going to be a professional danseur!” He couldn’t stop smiling. 

After a while he just laughed and stopped spinning. He sat down on his couch and hugged Vicchan fiercely. The dog didn’t look amused by all the excitement. Yuuri on the other side was over the moon. To appease Vicchan he started petting the little dog. Soon enough the poodle was happy again on his lap. 

While watching Vicchan Yuuri’s excitement weakened enough that it occurred to him to tell his family and friends about the good news. He didn’t care what time it was going to be in Japan as he called his parents. They didn’t stay mad after being rudely woken up by Yuuri’s call. His family was just happy to see him succeed. Mari even promised to come and visit him to see him live on stage. They were all so proud of him. They weren’t even mad that he wasn’t moving back home again. 

The next person to call was Minako-sensei. She wasn’ t sleeping like his parents. Minako had just closed her bar and was cleaning the mess her customers made. She sounded very tired as she answered his call. Yuuri felt somewhat guilty as he heard her. After all he was supposed to help her in the ballet studio so she didn’t have to work so much anymore. But the original plan wouldn’t work anymore as he was resolved to take the opportunity the Bolshoi Ballet was giving to him. To his surprise Minako sounded relieved after hearing his good news. She was worrying that he was making a mistake by coming back to Japan so soon but she was afraid to admit it in front of Yuuri. Now with his new chance she was just happy that he could live the same experiences she had when she was dancing in Europe in the past. 

Last but not least Yuuri had to call his friends. Phichit was at his ice rink during practice when he called. Phichit picked up his phone even while standing on the ice. His coach was always angry at him for doing that and predicted that one day Phichit would hurt himself for doing that. Of course, the boy never believed Ciao-Ciao and just laughed his worries off. When Phichit heard the news he almost jumped in the air with happiness for his friend. Instead of doing a jump Phichit fell down onto the ice. Thankfully he didn’t really hurt himself and just laid on the ice laughing. Even a little pain wasn’t going to change his mood after hearing the great news from Yuuri. 

Yuuko and Takeshi were sleeping as well. They were always tired as the parents of triplets. His friends were so happy after hearing the good news. Their joy was unfortunately too loud which resulted in screams from their children. Apparently, they woke Axel, Lutz and Loop up with their happiness. After hearing the children all three friends just laughed. Yuuri promised to call at a more respectable time to tell them the details about his future plans. 

Georgi was happy for his friend after hearing the news. He already planned to come to the premiere of the performance with his beloved girlfriend Anya. He was already thinking of which flowers to get for Yuuri. Georgi definitely wanted to throw them on the stage at the end of the performance, no matter how good or bad it would be. In his opinion Yuuri deserved to feel like a real star in this moment. 

Yuri just listened to Yuuri’s happy talk over the phone when he called. When everything was said on Yuuri’s side he finally answered. “Told you so.” With that Yurio just hung up. 

Lilia-sensei was the only person he didn’t want to tell the good news over the phone. On the walk over, he smiled the whole time while Vicchan followed him. When he arrived at the ballet studio, he found her in her office. Yuuri walked in without knocking on the door and immediately blurted the great news out. Surprised Lilia looked up from her work and walked over to him. She hugged him and caressed his hair. As she let go of him she promised to definitely come to his premiere show. 

“I have to take a picture so that I can hang it up on my wall. How else can I boast that I taught you everything I knew.” Lilia said with a huge smile. The words brought small tears to Yuuri’s eyes. He was just so happy to have such amazing teachers. 

“But now out with you. I have work that needs to be finished.” With that Lilia-sensei walked over to her table again and the emotional moment between them was over. 

In the next week Yuuri had to finish a lot of paperwork as well. He had to sign his work contract and other legal stuff with the Bolshoi Ballet. For every single step Lilia-sensei was with him. Yuuri’s Russian wasn’t good enough to do everything on his own. He felt more comfortable that she would read the contracts he had to sign as well. This way nobody could take advantage of him as Lilia had only his best interests in mind. 

The most work was getting a new visa for him. Before he had a student visa but now he needed a work visa. To collect all the necessary papers took a while. Thankfully Lilia was very well-ordered so that Lilia could sent everything out earlier than needed. But she wanted to make sure that everything would be going well with Yuuri. 

In the next two months he would start his training for his big performance. Before that he was going to exercise alone again at Lilia’s ballet studio. He wanted to be in the best condition possible. But he also planned to spend a lot of time with Vicchan. After he would start working and training at the new theatre he would be away from home more often. He was pretty sure that he couldn’t bring his beloved toy poodle with him all the time. This meant Vicchan had to stay home most of the time by himself. Yuuri was a little bit guilty for that. He was worried Vicchan would feel lonely. So, he decided as much time as possible with the little guy. 

Two weeks before he was supposed to start his new work he got a phone call. The ballet company was still missing some paperwork. Yuuri was confused as he sent everything together with Lilia-sensei even before the time limit. 

Confused and worried he spoke with his former ballet teacher. She told him not to worry, as she was looking at the matter more closely. Probably someone only missed place something. She wasn’t concerned at all. This shouldn’t be an unsolvable problem. 

After she called around several people, it seemed like the problem was Yuuri’s work visa. His new employee never got it, which was very strange. As Lilia called the right authorities involved here, it seemed like they never got his application. But Yuuri remembered filling out everything correctly. How could this be possible? He looked at Lilia for guidance as he hoped she knew what was going on. On her face was only confusion but slowly the emotion on her face changed. It seemed like realization was hitting her. What exactly she realized Yuuri wasn’t sure of. 

“Oh my god. On the day I was supposed to send your application away, I didn’t have the time to go to the post. I wanted to go a day later but Yuri was with me. He said he would do it and it wouldn’t even be a problem for him.” Lilia said. 

“Yurio? We have to talk to him immediately!” 

Lilia and Yuuri hurried to the ice rink. Yurio was supposed to train there today. They made it there quickly and could see Yakov and his skaters all on the ice. Normally Yuuri would have loved to see his skaters train live in front of his own eyes but with the problem at hand he couldn’t concentrate on that. On the ice was Georgi and Yurio who Yuuri already knew. There was also a young woman with short red hair. If he remembered correctly from Yurio’s stories her name was Mila. The last on the ice was a tall, good-looking man with shorter silver hair and the most beautiful blue eyes Yuuri ever saw. He immediately knew that this was Victor Nikiforov from the magazines Yuuko showed him when he was still small. Normally Yuuri would be in awe to stand before the Living Legend but not today. 

Yakov didn’t look pleased to see his ex-wife and Yuuri interrupting his training. Lilia just ignored him and went straight to Yuri. As she asked him what he did with Yuuri’s application. The other, younger Yuri looked confused. He knew he sent it away. What could have happened with it? By now the others were listening as well. Nobody of them understood a thing. 

Lilia explained how important the application was for Yuuri as it was for his work visa. Yurio watched her closely and then he remembered. 

“You mean the big letter you gave me, because you didn’t have time to go to the post office?” As Lilia nodded, he continued. “Well I didn’t bring it there because Victor said he had to go there anywhere. So, he offered to take the letter with him.” Yurio explained. 

Everybody turned their heads to Victor, who looked as innocent as possible. He just smiled and said, “What letter?” He just kept smiling. 

“The letter, which was supposed to give me my work visa. So, that I could stay here in Russia and live my dream.” Yuuri said desperately. “It was big and heavy. You just had to bring it to the post office, that’s it.” 

Victor looked at him intensely the whole time. He seemed to be thinking. 

“Oh, I remember! I was supposed to send something to my parents but they changed their minds. I never went to the post office after all. But I don’t remember your letter.” He smiled again. 

“For god’s sake, old man! You promised me to send it away!” Yurio screamed at him. 

Lilia also started to rant against Victor. But everything was too much for Yuuri. Was this how his dream was going to end? It didn’t even begin at all. He shouldn’t have been so happy the last months. Of course, his life couldn’t go this smoothly. As if he deserved a happy end. 

Yuuri just broke down in the middle of the ice rink in front of people he didn’t even know. He didn’t care anymore. His life was crashed into pieces. He heard the others talk in the back. 

“Is there no other way that Katsudon can stay in Russia?” Yurio asked. He went over to Yuuri to try and calm him down. He laid an arm around his shoulders. 

“Well, he still has his student visa, but with that he can’t official work for the ballet company. This would mean he had to give up the role and this amazing opportunity.” Lilia answered. 

“And if he applies for a visa again?” Yakov wondered. 

“No, that would be too late for him. There had to be another way.” Lilia thought out loud. 

“What if he tried to get the citizenship. Then he could stay without problem.” Georgi suggested. 

“It would take too much time as well. By then he would lose his role again.” Yakov answered this time. 

From the side came a low voice. “Could he just marry a Russian. Than he could stay as long as he wanted.” The girl called Mila proposed. 

Lilia and Yakov spoke excitingly at the same time. “That’s it!” 

Yuuri looked up at them both. The two looked happy as they seemed to found a solution to his problem. Yuuri on the other hand wasn’t so sure about that. 

“Yuuri, I know we don’t talk about relationship related things or other too personal stuff, but do you have a boyfriend or girlfriend. This would probably the best and easiest way for you to work in Russia with so few time left for you.” Lilia explained. 

Yuuri looked at her with his big brown and innocence eyes. “I never dated someone before.” Yuuri answered quietly. 

Lilia and Yakov looked surprised at first. But than they remembered what the goal was. The two started to discuss how they could find someone for Yuuri who was willing to marry him. Yuuri didn’t know what to say and what to even think about the fucked-up situation he was in. 

“What the hell? How can you stay here and talk about marrying Yuuri off to some fucking stranger? What is wrong with you?!” Yurio screamed with anger. 

Yuuri looked at him and was moved by Yuri’s worry for him. 

“You are right we have to ask someone Yuuri knows. Do you think you know somebody in your life that would marry you so that you could stay and work here in Russia?” Lilia asked. 

“Ehmm… I don’t really have many friends here in Russia. And the few acquaintances I have, I would feel uncomfortable asking them for marriage even out of convenience.” Yuuri responded truthfully. He couldn’t see anyone willingly getting married to him. 

“Hmm… Georgi has already a girlfriend and Yuri is way too young to become your husband. Who else could we ask?” Lilia asked Yakov desperately. 

Out of nowhere Victor advanced. When he stood in front of Yuuri he took one of his hands in his slightly bigger ones and kneeled down before him. 

“Will you marry me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAANNDDD another cliffhanger!   
> I am starting like them a lot. 
> 
> How will Yuuri react to the sudden marriage proposal? And will his answer be? Tune in next time for some answers ;)
> 
> I don't know anything about the laws in Russia regarding visa's. So everything you read here is made up for this story. If you want information about that you should definitely search for a more reliable source than a fanfiction.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri's decision

Victor was holding Yuuri’s hand and was still on his knees. He was looking at Yuuri. The words he just said needed time for Yuuri to be fully comprehended. He was confused. Did he hear Victor right? Did he really want to marry Yuuri? Why? This whole situation was surreal. From almost losing his dream to marring a stranger in mere minutes. How was this his life? 

Before he could react to anything happening Yurio beat him to it. 

“WHAT THE FUCK?! For fucks sake, which right do you have to propose to Katsudon? It’s all your fault in the first place. You two don’t even know each other. And how can everybody speak about it so calmly. This situation is fucked up. How can you let them talk about your future this way, Yuuri?” Yurio accused everybody of. 

“YURI! Victor is just trying to help and right now he is our best chance at solving this problem.”, Lilia scolded the younger Yuri. 

“What do you mean BEST CHANCE? He is the sole reason why we are in this situation. He fucked everything up. Yuuri was supposed to stay here in Russia and become the new and best prima ballerina St. Petersburg ever saw. But now he has to leave because the old man can’t even bring a letter to the post office.” 

“Yes, it is his fault but he is also probably the solution to the problem. Can’t you see that Victor is just trying to help out. He definitely feels guilty and he wants to make things right again. You shouldn’t talk like that to him. After all, you know he is in his core a nice and considerate person.” 

“Oh, yes? How nice he wants to straighten the problem he is the cause of. Well in my opinion I find it very strange how fast Victor decided to propose to Katsudon. He probably just wants to be the hero that saved everybody in a dire situation.” 

With Yurio’s last words Yuuri had enough. 

“Stop it, all of you!” Yuuri screamed. His head was already hurting with the consistent shouting and accusations flying around. He was just getting tired and wanted to be alone with Vicchan. He knew crying alone in his bed with the little poodle there as his only companion was better and more productive than anything going on here. 

“None of you are helping in any way right now!” With these words Yuuri looked at Victor, who was still holding his hand and was looking embarrassed by the whole situation going on around them. Yuuri didn’t know whether to thank him for proposing and helping him out or to slap his face so hard that a red handprint could be seen on his cheek for days. As he couldn’t decide he compromised on pulling his hand hardly out of Victor’s grip. Seeing the gesture Yurio smiled as if he somehow won the argument. 

“Yes, Yurio, I hate this situation very much. I hate how all my future lies in the hands of a person I don’t even know. And yes, I am so angry at Victor right. If I could I would rather see him never again in my life. So, Lilia-sensei and Yakov-san, if there is a possible person I could marry to get the Russian citizenship that you both trust, I would marry them rather than Victor.  
But Yuri, you are also wrong about blaming just Victor. It is as much Lilia’s and yours fault as well. I trusted you two to bring the letter with my application for a visa to the post office. But both of you instead of doing it yourself shifted the responsibility onto someone else. I am not really angry at you two but I am so disappointed. You are my friends and important people in my life, I trust you both.  
Perhaps it is even my fault. I should have never instructed someone else besides myself with such an important task. Perhaps my trust was too much or I was just naïve.” Yuuri explained himself and his feelings. He fought to keep the tears away from his eyes. He needed to be strong in this situation. But he did feel somehow defeated. 

Yurio looked guilty after hearing Yuuri’s words. He couldn’t bear the look in his face and lowered his eyes to the ground and his feet. Lilia looked sadly at Yuuri as well. She knew that she messed up badly. 

“Yuuri, you have every right to feel all these emotions. I would even understand if you didn’t want to see any of us in the next weeks or perhaps even your entire life. This is your decision. But I know you and how much ballet means to you, which is why we have to find a solution as soon as possible. I want to make things right by you.” Lilia responded. 

Yakov coughed slightly to gain the attention of everyone present. 

“Well, Yuuri, to tell the truth a fake marriage for a Russian citizenship is illegal and a felony. This means we have to find somebody who wants to marry you and to stay with you willingly for almost a year or perhaps even longer. You can’t just marry someone, get the citizenship and immediately get a divorce again. There are laws in Russia against abusing this right.  
It would be better to not include to many people in a fraud as well. We don’t want this to blow up into our faces. Worst case scenario one of us could end up in jail. So, I really think the safest opportunity right now really is Victor. I mean there are a lot of hurdles we have to overcome even if you choose to marry him.  
Our primary problem right now is the time constraint. We have to get you married as fast as possible otherwise you could lose your role at the Bolshoi Ballet. This means one of us has to immediate request a marriage license for the next week or so. This will also mean you have to decide quickly. I hate the idea to pressure you into making such a huge decision in such a short period of time. Marriage shouldn’t be taking lightly and normally I would tell you to treat it like a live changing event but in this case, it is completely different. The real question is just if you are really willing to go through such a complicated process for ballet.” 

Yuuri just stopped for a second. He was happy that Yakov spoke out the truth but he didn’t know how to immediately answer his last question. Was ballet really that important for him to commit a crime? Yes, ballet was his dream and somehow it also overtook his life but marriage? This was different. Marriage normally was supposed to be forever and you should experience this with someone you love. Well, Yakov did say that his situation was different and as long Yuuri wouldn’t get bonded he could get a divorce and live his life as if this mess never happened. This did sound good in a way. Yuuri knew he wanted everything to be over quickly. He wanted to forget everything as soon as possible. 

“Yes, I would do everything to keep dancing ballet. So, I guess let’s get married as long as I can get a divorce as soon as possible.” Yuuri answered seriously. 

Lilia stepped forward and took Yuuri in her arms. She whispered in his ear, “Are you really sure?” 

Her concern was heart-warming. He embraced his ballet teacher and nodded with conviction. He wanted to make sure that she knew he was certain of what he was doing. As she looked at him, she wore a bitter-sweet smile. 

“Yuuri, do you want us to search for somebody else or are you okay with Victor? We should clear that up before we get the marriage license.” Lilia asked him again. 

He sighed. This was it, the most important question and he needed an answer, fast. He closed his eyes and listened to his heart. He already knew what he wanted. 

“I don’t want to involve an innocent person into a felony or an unreal marriage. I can’t make a stranger to go through such an experience just for my personal gain. But I believe if Victor is really sorry for what he has done, then he should help me and make things right. A fake marriage so that I can keep dancing ballet in Russia would be a good start. Perhaps one day we can even leave this whole thing behind ourselves.” 

“Yes, I really want to help you, Yuuri. I seriously am sorry for everything. For me it’s just a silly mistake but for you it’s a huge life changing disaster. I don’t know how I will ever amend my mistake. I just don’t know.” Victor intervened. 

By now Victor wasn’t on his knees anymore. He stood next to Yuuri and looked miserable. What he just said seemed to be honest in Yuuri’s opinion. He seemed to really want to do the right thing. 

“Okay! That’s great. Now that we resolved this issue, we should start focusing on the whole process of getting you two married.” Lilia expressed with a small smile. 

As Yuuri finally made it home he closed his front door and leaned against it. He was just so done with the day and wanted it to be over. He let his head fall against the door, closed his eyes and sighed. Vicchan immediately heard his owner coming home and as the adorable and loyal dog he was instantly started running to Yuuri. When Yuuri didn’t react to the little poodle welcoming him home he started staying on his hind legs and leaned on one of Yuuri’s leg. 

Yuuri sighed again and slowly smiled at his dog. Even though he went through his worst day of his life he couldn’t be mad or sad at Vicchan. The dog didn’t do anything wrong. He crouched down and picked the toy poodle up. The little dog started to lick his face. Vicchan was just happy to get the attention of his favorite human. He happily barked. 

At least at home Yuuri could forget everything for a little while. 

 

In the next week everybody was busy with planning the fake marriage. Lilia got the marriage license for the next weekend. Everything was moving fast now. 

Yuuri just knew he wanted a really small marriage with almost no people. He just didn’t want anyone to know what he had to do to stay in Russia. He didn’t even tell his family or friends outside of St. Petersburg what he was going to do next weekend. It was enough that his family knew he was finally going to dance for a ballet company. They were all so proud of him. Yuuri didn’t want them to be disappointed by the fact that he had to commit a crime to actually fulfill his dream. 

Victor was fine with his wishes regarding the wedding. He didn’t really talk about involving his friends or his family. So Yuuri guessed he understood the situation they were now in. Of course, some people had to attend the little wedding at the register office. Lilia and Yakov would be there as their witnesses to their marriage. Mila was going to take some picture of their “happiest” day in their lives. With photos the whole thing was going to seem more real. Georgi and Yurio also confirmed of attending the event. They wanted to show their support for them both, even though Yurio still hated the whole idea immensely. 

The one detail they had to argue with Victor was about not posting anything on his social media about the wedding at all. As Lilia described it Victor was in her opinion almost addicted to social media sites. He loved posting pictures or just tweeting random stuff all the time. Because of these habits and his famousness, he had a major following online. Of course, he wanted to share most parts of his life and in his eyes that was also true for the wedding with Yuuri. Victor thought it would be strange and out of character for him to not post anything about an event that should be so important for him. 

Yuuri felt uncomfortable at the idea of appearing on Victor’s social media sites, especially as his fake husband. He didn’t want to be connected to him in this way. Who was going to believe them that Victor would marry him anyway? It was going to be a hard challenge to make the Russian government and their officials believe in their sincerity of their loving marriage. He didn’t need Victor’s fans also involved in it as well. Yuuri felt enough stress already. 

The other thing bothering Yuuri was that he didn’t want to be connected to Victor Nikiforov in anyway. He didn’t want to be seen as someone that tried to succeed by using the fame of his “husband”. In Yuuri’s whole ballet career everything that he has achieved was by his own strength, which he was very proud of, even though it wasn’t much until this point. But now with the coming wedding he didn’t want to become “famous” as just Victor’s spouse. Victor never had anything to do with his career or his life. He wanted to let his work at the new lead at the Bolshoi Ballet Company to speak for itself. 

 

On the day of the wedding, a Saturday, Yuuri woke up early together with Vicchan on his bed. It was his last night in his apartment. After the marriage he was going to move in with Victor. Yuuri wasn’t completely happy with leaving his flat but on the other hand Victor proposed for him to live with him for free. For the sake of their fake marriage it would look better if they lived together as any normal married pair. Another advantage was the fact that he would save the cost of his apartment for at least a year. After the whole marriage thing Yuuri would have saved enough money for a nicer flat in St. Petersburg than his current one. 

Yuuri’s apartment was objectively too small for them to live together, so he had to pack all his stuff up. In the last week he put all of his life into several boxes. He didn’t think it would be so easy but the process went rather fast. Thankfully he already had boxes from the idea of moving back to Japan. 

Victor assured him that there would be enough place for both of them and their dogs. Yuuri was just happy that he could take Vicchan with him to Victor’s place. No matter the circumstances Yuuri would never left the little poodle behind. On the contrary Viktor was ecstatic by the idea of living with another dog. He was happy that Makkachin was getting a new friend and wouldn’t be alone at home while he was training. Victor always felt awful that Makkachin had to spend most of her time in only an apartment and that he couldn’t give her more time of his day for only her. Both Victor and Yuuri just hoped that the two dogs would get along with each other well. 

Victor also promised that in his home there was enough room so that they both didn’t need to sleep together in one bed. Yuuri wasn’t going to start sleeping with a stranger in one bed. That would be ridiculous. He probably would have his own room or at least he hoped he would. This way they could live together only as roommates. They both had busy lives so Yuuri just hoped they won’t be seeing each other very often, which sounded good in Yuuri’s opinion. Yuuri was still very angry at Victor and at the moment he couldn’t believe that they were going to become friends somehow. That would be ridiculous. 

Reluctant Yuuri left his bed so early in the morning, but today was a long and eventful day. Like every morning Yuuri went into his bathroom to go through his morning routine. Afterwards he went for a small morning run together with Vicchan so that the toy poodle could relief himself. Yuuri was kind of nervous this morning but the small run didn’t help this time at all. When he came back to his flat he started on making breakfast for himself and the dog. Vicchan was eating enthusiastically but Yuuri couldn’t really stomach anything this morning. 

Anxiously he waited for Lilia-sensei to arrive. She would come with his suit for his wedding. Thankfully he could choose what he would wear for his own wedding. He didn’t have to wait too long for Lilia’s arrival. As it knocked on his door Yuuri ran to his door. He was just happy to see her. He needed to see a friendly face. Surprisingly Lilia wasn’t alone. 

With her was Mila who helped carrying the many baggage Lilia brought with her. Even though the wedding was fake Lilia had the opinion that Yuuri had to look amazing for this event. No matter what was going to happen even if the whole thing would crash and burn she was of the mindset that Yuuri at least had to look handsome doing it. She said that was the life of a prima ballerina. 

Mila helped Lilia with styling Yuuri for the occasion and clothing him. Mila was amazing at styling Yuuri’s hair. She slinked his hair tightly out of his face to the back of his head. After several hours of torture by the hands of the two ladies Yuuri was just happy to get a little pause. Because of them both being so busy with him Yuuri somewhat even relaxed a little bit. He liked listening to the two bantering with each other about fashion and styling. Yuuri could just forget why he was so nervous and what he was going to do in several hours. He finally could even eat something for the first time today. 

When they finished Yuuri was clothed in a black suit with a white shirt underneath and a blue tie. He was wearing new black shoes with black socks. In his opinion he looked good with his new clothes. But he would rather wear them for a nicer occasion. He was wearing only the minimal amount of make-up on his face. It made his eyes look so much bigger than they normally were. 

While he was eating and calming down a bit Lilia and Mila were getting ready as well. Meanwhile Lilia also stayed in contact with Yakov who was helping Victor to get ready as well. The two groups were supposed to arrive at the same time at the court building where they were going to get married. It was admirable how she could multitask so many different things at the same time. 

When they all were ready and looked amazing, they went downstairs. Lilia was wearing a royal blue dress that was rather short. Underneath she was wearing dark tights. Her hair was still up in a bun. Mila was wearing a pink short dress. Her hair was open as always. She was wearing little make-up. Even Vicchan was wearing a baby blue bowtie around his neck. He looked so cute, that Yuuri had to make several pictures of him on his phone. 

It was Victor’s idea to include the dogs in the marriage ceremony. He thought it was cute if the two poodles would be walking with them to the altar and would be sitting next to them during their vows. Yuuri loved the idea very much, this way his little friend would be there to calm him down. And perhaps he would copy the idea for his real wedding as well. Just thinking of the idea of Vicchan being at his real wedding with the person he was going to love until they died made him smile. 

Slowly the whole group with a small dog following made their way to the taxi waiting outside. It took awhile for them to arrange them inside the car. The first stop was the florist. Lilia-sensei ordered a bouquet for Yuuri out of white flowers from several different kinds. Afterwards they finally made their way to the courthouse. The closer the car was to their location the more nervous Yuuri got again. The fact that Vicchan was curled in his lap didn’t help as well. 

As they arrived they could see Yurio already standing outside. His face was speaking of anger and frustration. He was pacing around in the street before the courthouse. When the ladies, Yuuri and Vicchan exited the car Yurio immediately looked over to them and walked over. 

“Finally! There is no way that I can endure any more minutes of Victor’s nervous talk and his overall annoyingness. And Yakov is no help either. He is just angry at Victor’s stupid questions. Let’s get over with everything!” Yurio exclaimed. 

“Why would Victor be nervous?” Yuuri asked. 

“Who knows? And to be honest I kind of don’t want to know it. It’s probably just a Victor thing.” Yuri shrugged. 

Together the group went into the courthouse. They took the stairs to get to the right floor. Yakov, Georgi and Victor were waiting in front of the room they were getting married in. 

Victor looked very nervous but the moment he saw Yuuri walking over the emotion on his face changed. He started even smiling. Yuuri wasn’t sure why. He didn’t feel like smiling at all. The only thing Victor said to him was a quite “Hey”. He looked good in a black suit with a black tie. He looked so much better in his suit than Yuuri could ever imagine looking like in his best clothes. 

The whole group went inside together. Lilia was standing next to Yuuri with Vicchan in her arms. Yakov was standing on Victor’s side. Makkachin was patiently sitting next to him. Georgi and Yurio were sitting in the front rows. Mila was responsible for taking pictures of the whole ceremony. 

The whole marriage ceremony was kind of short. They were going for the standard procedure. They didn’t come up with their own vows. There was no need for it. After the exchange of the rings came the awkward part of the whole ceremony. Victor and Yuuri were supposed to kiss in front of their friends. Yuuri never really experienced his first kiss and now he was just supposed to kiss his fake husband. How was this his life? 

Victor just smiled encouraging to him. He didn’t make a move on to him at all. Yuuri just closed his eyes and kissed Victor on his cheek. He didn’t have the courage to kiss Victor on the lips. When Yuuri opened his eyes again Victor’s smile wasn’t as big as it was before. It probably was bad to get kissed by him. Yuuri just started blushing. He felt stupid. 

Mila made some more pictures in the courthouse of the newly married pair. On the opposite of the courthouse was a nice park. In there they made some photos of the whole group together. For some romantic pictures Victor even carried Yuuri in his arms. Yuuri tried his best to looked in love. He wanted them to look believable. 

Sadly, Yuuri’s day was still not over. The group split into two groups. Lilia-sensei and he went back to his home to get his stuff together with Yakov. The other ones were going already to Victor’s place. 

It was time to move in with Victor. Yuuri and Lilia took the last boxes and carried out to Yakov’s car. It felt strange to look at his bare apartment. It felt like he was closing a chapter of his life. He was starting a new part and that wasn’t here anymore. His home was going to be somewhere else. As Lilia and Yuuri sat in the car, Yakov started driving to Victor’s home. Victor lived in an expensive apartment complex. The house even had a concierge. 

As the concierge opened the front door he welcomed Yakov. Of course, Yakov went to Victor’s home often enough that people there knew him. The concierge looked at the three with the moving boxes in hand. Quickly Yakov explained that Yuuri would start living here from now on. The man looked Yuuri up and down and started to smile. 

“Oh, I heard from Mister Nikiforov that he was going to get married today and that his husband would move in today as well. Congratulations by the way.”, the concierge answered happily. He pushed a button and called for the elevator. When the elevator arrived, he let Yuuri, Lilia and Yakov in and pushed the right button for the floor Victor lived in. 

For the whole ride in the elevator the three were completely silent. A sound ringed as they arrived at the right floor. They all went out of the elevator and had to walk through a short corridor to Victor’s front door. As soon as Yuuri rang the bell Victor opened his door with a smile. He happily let Yuuri inside his home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that took longer than anticipated.  
> I don't know anything about marriages in Russia so I just came up with some stuff that made sense in my mind. 
> 
> I hope this chapter helps understanding Yuuri's thoughts on the whole marriage thing. Next chapter will be the starting point of Yuuri and Victor living together and all the problems that happens because of it...
> 
> SO this fic hit the most important milestone there is. For a short while there were 420 likes. God damn, mom I made it. hahaha But I am happy to see people enjoying my work. And oh my god there were so many comments on the last chapter. It's amazing.
> 
> Normally I don't want to talk about personal stuff but now I have to. Sadly there will be no updates for a month as I will be visiting my family from 26.8. to 26.9. I am not bringing my laptop with me where I normally write this story. That means if I have the need to write I have to do it the old-fashioned way and have to use paper and a pen. We will see if I even have the time to write anything.  
> I hope to see you soon guys!


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a new home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M BACK! And I'm sorry it took me so long.
> 
> I really want to promise that it will never take so long again but I know I shouldn't make any promises when it comes to time management. 
> 
> On a more exiting note this chapter had and the future ones will have a Beta. The amazing [Lunaxel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lunaxel/pseuds/Lunaxel) is going to help me. Again thank you so much!

Yuuri shouldn't have been so surprised by the way Victor's apartment looked like. After all, Victor wasn't just a very skilled famous figure skater, he was also a style icon.

Victor Nikiforov appeared in several fashion magazines. Sometimes he was just a model, but there were often articles depicting his clothes and overall fashion sense. Yuuri knew about these articles thanks to Yuuko sending her favorites ones to him, even after he moved away.

His friend Yuuko was still a big fan of Victor and figure skating overall. Even when she couldn't participate in any events anymore because of the birth of her triplets, she still was an active watcher of figure skating. She would probably kill just to get the chance to stand in Victor's apartment for one second.

But right now, Yuuri was the one standing in Victor's beautiful and stylish living room with Vicchan on his leech on one hand and his only plant grasped in his other hand. Vicchan was already tugging on his leech to be let free to roam around his new home. Yuuri just couldn't let go of him. After all the ceremonies and him being a good boy the whole day, he was probably full of energy. How could he let Vicchan cause so much havoc in the expensive looking home of Victor?! Yuuri knew he should have gone on a walk with the little poodle before coming here. It would have calmed the dog a little bit down. 

While Yuuri was struggling internally with the imminent chaos that could happen at any minute, Yakov and Lilia were carrying in some of his boxes from his old flat. Before Yakov could place the first boxes on the floor Yuuri just realized that the carpet in Victor's living room was white. Of course, it had to be white where you could see any stains left from Yuuri cheap boxes. As if it wasn't already nerve-wracking enough to have Vicchan waiting to let loose in Victor's home. Now his boxes would leave stains which could possibly never be cleaned.

Yuuri just felt like he wanted to run away. Everything was so overwhelming for him. How was he going to live there? The apartment was way too stylish and too expensive for him. He was used to living in his small cheap apartment where he didn’t know his neighbors. It didn’t matter that Vicchan was running around in the flat or that Yuuri danced at the strangest hours with music on. At his old home he didn’t have too many furniture pieces, this way Vicchan had enough space to do whatever he wanted.

But Victor’s place was the complete opposite. He had a big living room and in the center of it was a beautiful and stylish, blue couch with some white and light blue pillows. On the couch laid Victor’s own poodle Makkachin. Makkachin seemed to be sleeping and wasn’t bothered by the people around her. In front of the sofa, on the wall, was a big flat screen tv. Under the television was a black cabinet with expensive looking audio equipment. There was only a small round table next to the couch. On it were some fashion magazines, that Victor seemed to be reading.

The living room had enough space for most of Yuuri's possessions with its gigantic size. But what if he ruined anything in Victor’s place. In some way Yuuri was just a guest and nothing more. The only thing that was crystal clear in Yuuri’s opinion was that he had to act now.

Before Lilia and Yakov could place his moving boxes down on the floor Yuuri spoke.

“Stop!” Yuuri almost screamed.

All eyes were on Yuuri now. His little outburst let Yakov and Lilia freeze in their place. Both stopped putting down his stuff and turned around to watch him. They shot questioning looks at him.

Yuuri just got more nervous with everybody staring. He had to do or at least say something.

“Ehmmm… I mean you guys shouldn’t put the boxes in the living room. I think it would be better to put them down in the kitchen.” Yuuri muttered.

Yakov and Lilia looked at each other and just shrugged. They started to walk out of the living room and made their way to the left. It was obvious that the two knew their way around Victor’s place. They left through a door at the left, probably the kitchen.

Victor was still staring at him. Yuuri just realized that he was alone with him and the dogs. It was embarrassing for Yuuri to say the least. As he wanted to slowly make the way over to the kitchen, Vicchan started to tug on his leash again. The movement of the little poodle seemed to break some kind of spell on Victor. 

Victor slowly made his way over to him. Yuuri was nervous. What was Victor thinking about his behaviour? After all he was kind of acting strange. But on Victor’s face appeared a big smile. 

As he stood before him Vicchan started to bark at him. The barking didn’t bothered Victor at all. Instead he crouched down before the toy poodle. The little dog looked surprised as Victor started to talk to him. 

“Hey, small one. You don’t have to be scared. I am not going to hurt you, don’t worry.” Victor kept smiling. 

He put out one of his hands slowly to the dog, so that Vicchan could smell it. As the poodle was smelling his hand, he started to slowly calm down. After some seconds, when Victor thought the dog was ready and calm, he moved his hands to pet him. While Victor was petting Vicchan the dog’s eyes closed and he started to pant with an outstretched tongue. 

Victor lifted Vicchan up into his arms and stood up. He looked happy to see Vicchan being relaxed in his embrace. 

“I am going to unfasten your dogs leash, after all there is no need for it at home.” Victor said with a big smile. 

Yuuri could just nod. He had no idea what to answer. Victor let Vicchan loose in the living room and hanged his leash next to another one on the coat hook. 

“Do you want to place your plant down somewhere? Or are you going to keep carrying it around with you?” Victor said with a cheeky smile on his face. 

Yuuri looked down at his plant in his arms. A blush slowly appeared on his face. 

“Of course! Ehmm… I should bring it into the kitchen as well.” Yuuri responded. 

“Why the kitchen? You can put your plant wherever you want. I just want you to feel comfortable in your new home.” Victor suggested. 

“Oh no, don’t worry.” Yuuri refused Victor. 

Yuuri made his way to Victor’s amazing kitchen. His kitchen was huge. It was even bigger than his kitchen at home back in Japan. His mother’s kitchen was big, as she had to deal with all customers of the onsen and their hunger, but Victor’s kitchen was in a different league. 

The kitchen had a big counter where you could cook and also eat. The top of the counter was in white marble. The whole kitchen looked very classy and beautiful. The oven and the other kitchen equipment probably cost very much. It all looked very expensive but on the other hand the kitchen overall kinda looked sterile and not lived-in. It was just too clean. 

Yuuri put his plant on the counter and started to look around a little bit in the room. He opened the refrigerator made out of steel and saw almost nothing in it. It was strange. Even the living room looked kind of blank. Did Victor not spend much time in his own home?

“Do you not like the kitchen? Is something wrong with it?” Victor asked. 

 

Yuuri shook his head. “No, everything is alright. I just was wondering do you use your kitchen often?” 

“Not often. I mostly eat outside if I am being honest.”

Yuuri was just thankful that he brought all his kitchen utensils from his home. He hoped he could use the kitchen even later when he started to work with the ballet company. It would be probably very fun to cook with so much space and room. 

“I should go and help Lilia-sensei and Yakov with the moving boxes.” Yuuri spoke as he slowly moved to the door of the kitchen. It was still awkward to be with Victor alone in a room, especially if there wasn’t anything to talk about. 

As Yuuri opened the door to the living room he was greeted by a giant fluffy poodle. The dog just jumped onto him. With the force of the jump Yuuri fell down on the floor together with Victor’s pet. It was just starting to lick his face. Even though Yuuri’s butt hurt he was still happy to see that Victor’s dog apparently liked him.

“Oh my god. I’m so sorry, Yuuri! Makkachin, you can’t just do that. You have to be a nice girl to Yuuri. After all he will be living with us from now on.” Victor exclaimed. 

Yuuri laughed and ruffled the fur of Makkachin’s head. 

“It’s no problem. It’s likely that she just wanted to say hi. I get it. Vicchan gets easily excited, too, whenever he met someone new.” Yuuri told him. 

When Yuuri finally pried himself free from Makkachin, he stood up and brushed off the dust on his trousers. Meanwhile the two poodles started playing with each other again. He was happy to see these two getting along with each other. It was also funny to see Vicchan trying so hard to keep up with the big dog. Yuuri couldn’t keep himself from smiling. He could just stay there and watch these two play for hours. 

“You should stay here and look after the two. I can go down and help Lilia and Yakov carrying your stuff up here.” Victor suggested. 

Before Yuuri could even respond Victor was already out of the door. He just sighed and sat down on the couch. The dogs were still chasing each other around. As there were nothing else to do, Yuuri just watched them both play.

 

It took awhile for the three of them to get all his personal belongings into the apartment. After all the work, Lilia and Yakov said their goodbyes and left the newly wedded pair alone in their home. Yuuri felt somehow bad that he didn’t help even though the others assured him that it was no problem. 

Victor suggested to show Yuuri around in his flat before he started to unpack his belongings. Victor’s home was beautiful. There was a little room used as Victor’s workroom next to the living room. 

In there was a small mahogany desk with a comfortable chair in front of it. On one of the walls was a bookshelf with several Russian books and different magazines. Some of these magazines were from Russia but many were international ones that even Yuuri recognised. He picked one of the older Vogue magazines up and looked through it. He found an article about Victor in it when he was younger and still had longer hair. Curiously Yuuri picked several others up as well and not surprisingly in all of them there were either interviews with or articles about Victor in it. It seemed as Victor was collecting them. But he couldn’t find any magazines with newer articles about Victor. It was like Victor, at some point, just stopped collecting them. 

Yuuri didn’t want to pry too much into Victor’s personal life, so he wanted to walk out of his workroom and leave everything behind. But before he could, he was distracted by a poster next to the bookshelf. There was nothing else beside the framed poster on this wall, which made it stand out even more. 

It was an old poster of Victor, when he was younger. He was wearing a white jacket and a big, long grey scarf. Victor still had his long, shiny silver hair. In the picture he was posing with Makkachin. His scarf was draped not only onto Victor’s shoulders but it was also draped onto the poodle as well. It was cute the way Victor hugged his dog and kept smiling into the camera. They both looked very happy together. 

“That was the very first photo shooting that I ever did for my own poster. I was still very young and I just won my first gold medal in the junior division. It was the Russian finals and I was so very nervous in that competition and back then, nobody believed that I could win the final. But I surprisingly did and with an amazing free skate which also broke a record. It felt amazing. It was a feeling I never experienced before. The way I skated that day also resonated with a lot of people in the audiences and I won a lot of new fans at this competition.  
Which was why Yakov thought it would be appropriate to start some merchandise for my fans. I had photographers take pictures of me before either on the ice or other special occasions but these pictures would be hanged up all over Russia. It was completely different. I was so uncomfortable that after an hour the photographer told me to pose with Makkachin, which was way more fun and this is how they got this picture that I love very much.” Victor explained. 

“Oh, yeah, that was your first merchandise. If I remember correctly, you were 14 years old in the picture, am I right?” Yuuri wondered. 

Victor blushed a little bit and his face started to transform into the biggest heart-shaped smile that Yuuri ever saw in his whole life. He enthusiastically nodded as a response to Yuuri’s question. 

Yuuri was just embarrassed. He didn’t want to leave the wrong impression on Victor that he was some kind of creepy fan of his. Quickly he spoke out. 

“I mean, my friend Yuuko had the same poster in her room. She was searching for it for a while and one day she randomly found it at some store in Tokyo. She was so happy to finally have it. When she showed the poster she told me about it. It was also the first time that I saw your poodle, Makkachin.” 

“Hmm, if I remember correctly a year later we published the poster worldwide, which is probably the version your friend purchased. You know, this is by far my favorite picture we ever sold. Makkachin, at that time, had only lived one and a half years with me. Most people than didn’t even know that I had a poodle.  
Now she is older and almost 15 years old, but at least I will always have this to remember her forever.” Victor responded. He slowly raised his right arm to put his hand over the face of Makkachin on the picture. He looked a little sad in Yuuri’s opinion. 

“It doesn’t seem like she is that old. I mean she can keep pace with Vicchan who is only 7 years old. Makkachin is still young in her heart. To be honest when I saw you two together it was my first time seeing a poodle in my life and I fell in love with them.” Yuuri replied with a slight blush. He wanted to cheer Victor a little bit up. It didn’t feel right to talk about such a serious topic with him. He basically didn’t really know him at all. 

It seemed at least to work to some extent. Victor didn’t say anything more about it but he still kept his eyes on his beloved poodle in the picture. As Yuuri turned away, he, for the first time, noticed the cupboard on the other side of the room. It was a big black cupboard with glass doors. In it he could see several medals Victor won at ice skating competitions. In between spaces there were some scattered pictures, but Yuuri didn’t pay attention to them. All he wanted was to leave the room and leave the conversation behind as well. 

The room next to the workroom was Victor’s bedroom. In it was a big king sized double bed with white sheets on it. The bed was made out of light pine wood and it looked overall very comfortable. There were golden, modern lights on both sides of the bed standing on nightstands made out of the same material as the bed. In front of the bed was a small comfortable bench. A big fluffy, white carpet was under the bed and the little bench. At first glance the bedroom overall looked very appealing to Yuuri. 

As he looked closer around the bedroom, he saw two different doors, which were facing each other on the opposite sides of the bed. Yuuri chose to open the door on the right side of the bed. The door led to a big walk-in closet. He had never before seen such a huge closet. There were several wardrobes around the room. Most of them were filled with Victor’s designer clothes. Yuuri really didn’t want to know how much all these clothes were worth. It was probably more expensive than everything that he ever possessed. 

In the middle of the room were two cupboards. On them were several cases but from where he stood he couldn’t clearly look inside them. As Yuuri stepped closer to the cupboards he finally could see the jewelry inside the different cases. The jewelry seemed to be real at least in Yuuri’s opinion, which also meant they were probably very expensive. Yuuri didn’t dare to touch any of them. But if the stuff Victor left in the open, already, looked so impressive he didn’t want to know what was inside the cupboards. 

At the end of the room was a closet with all of Victor’s old figure skating costumes. Yuuri was magically drawn to that specific part of the room. Even he could recognize some of the more iconic costumes Victor once wore. They were all shiny and they sparkled beautifully. As he touched one of the costumes Yuuri was surprised how soft and smooth the clothes were. 

“Oh, you found my old costumes.” Victor exclaimed surprised as he entered his walk-in closet. “By the way I emptied almost all the closets on the right side for you. I hope it is enough room for your clothes.” 

Yuuri took his hands off of the old costumes and turned to the right side of the room. There he could see three different closets. One of the smaller ones and one of the bigger ones were completely empty. The third wardrobe still had some of Victor’s suit in it. Even with the space of two and a half closets Yuuri just knew it was way too much space for him. If he was lucky he could fill the smaller closet with all his belongings. 

“I don’t think I need so much space, Victor.” Yuuri said honestly. 

Victor looked surprised about Yuuri’s confession. He probably couldn’t understand someone like Yuuri that didn’t want to spend a small fortune for clothes. Yuuri only possessed some good quality but not overly expensive clothing pieces that he dearly loved. 

“I’m just not that into clothing or fashion.” Yuuri admitted. 

He wanted to leave the whole conversation at that. So Yuuri slowly made his way out of the closet room and back into the bedroom. There was still one room left to explore. 

The other door on the left connected a huge bathroom to the bedroom. In the center of the bathroom was a big bathtub, which probably could hold the two of them together at the same time. Not that Yuuri had any of these thoughts or desires. Yuuri blushed a little bit. 

He just missed taking baths. In his old apartment there was only a shower but back in Japan he regularly took a bath in the hot springs of his family. He liked to relax his aching bones in the onsen. It relaxed him immensely. Yuuri hoped to get as much joy out of the new bathtub as being in the onsen at home. 

On the side there was also a big shower stall. The sink in the bathroom had a lot of hair products and skin care products. Yuuri was surprised by the amount that Victor owned. He asked himself whether Victor would be using all of them regularly. 

When they left the bathroom, Victor and Yuuri were back in the bedroom again. 

“So...where am I going to sleep?” Yuuri asked as he had now seen the whole apartment. 

“Well, here. Where else were you going to sleep? There are no more bedrooms in the apartment.” Victor responded. 

“In… YOUR… bedroom…” Yuuri repeated. It was hard for him to comprehend Victor’s absurd idea.

Victor just nodded. It seemed like he didn’t see any problem at all with them sleeping together in the same room with only one bed. Yuuri couldn’t believe him. Was that the reason why Victor was so nonchalant about the whole marriage with him? Did he think that he could get any benefits off of the marriage with an Omega? Was that the aim? Was Victor really such a person?

“I am going to sleep here, in your bedroom, with only one bed together with YOU for the rest of this marriage?” Yuuri asked again unbelievable. 

“WHAT? No no no..” Victor exclaimed while shaking his head vigorously. “I meant, you are going to sleep here alone and I am going to sleep on the couch alone. I would never think that we were going to sleep with each other in the same bed.” 

Yuuri could see the honesty in Victor’s eyes. It calmed his mind a little bit but his subconsciousness was still screaming at him to be careful with Victor. 

“Isn’t the couch too small for you to lay on?” Yuuri asked.

“Oh, don’t worry the couch will be fine. I just need a blanket and than I am good to go.”

“So, you are going to sleep in the living room?” Yuuri had to ask again.

“Yes, as far away as possible. If you would feel better, the bedroom can be locked but only from your side of the door.” Victor assured him. 

This information made Yuuri feel safer. So he nodded to Victor. 

The rest of the day Yuuri packed his clothes and filled some parts of the walk-in closet with his belongings. He also decided to put his little plant into the bedroom. He hoped this way, the room would quicker feel as his own rather than Victor’s bedroom. Everyday when he woke up he would be able to see it. 

Victor, as he said, did let the delivery service come with some Chinese food. When Yuuri entered the kitchen, the two poodles were already eating together side by side. They were very hungry after the exciting day. As he watched them, Yuuri recognized his own hunger. He turned to the kitchen counter where Victor stood. In front of him was a huge amount of different Chinese dishes. Yuuri was speechless next to the food. 

Normally, Yuuri would have had to watch out what and how much he ate. But today was different he decided. It was still his wedding day and if he wasn’t spending it with the person he truly loved he could at least eat whatever he wanted on his wedding night. 

After way too much fast food, Yuuri got sleepy. He was ready for bed. Victor seemed to noticed it as well. He suggested that they both went to sleep earlier. Yuuri just nodded and was happy with the idea to spend some time alone. 

As he walked to the bedroom he realized that Victor was still following him. He suddenly turned around and glared. 

“What do you think you are doing?” Yuuri questioned him. 

“I need some clothes to change into for sleeping.” Victor responded surprised and innocently.

Oh. Yuuri didn’t think of that. He felt stupid for mistrusting Victor of some suspicious actions.

“I’m sorry. I’m just so unbelievably tired.”

“Don’t worry!” With that Victor went to the closet to grab some clothes. He left the bedroom and Yuuri alone to change in the living room. 

Quickly, Yuuri got some clothes to change as well. Back again in the bedroom he wondered if he should use the lock on the door for the first time. What would Victor think when he would hear the door getting locked? God, there was no way Victor was thinking about Yuuri in some kind of romantic or sexual way. But he kept hearing Mari’s voice that warned him of every Alpha, even the nice ones. Yuuri was just too tired to think clearly. He left the door unlocked and just started to change.

It was strange to know that Victor was changing as well at the same time as him only one room further. This knowledge made Yuuri blush immensely. 

After changing, Yuuri only wanted to lay down on the bed and sleep but he knew it was rude to do so before saying goodnight to Victor. With a heavy heart he decided to open the door to the living room again and hoped that he was finished with changing as well. He didn’t want to see anything embarrassing at all. His life was not going to turn into some kind of anime or manga for teenage girls and boys. 

When he opened the door, he saw Victor on the couch with his blanket on himself. He was petting Vicchan and Makkachin. He looked happy. Yuuri dared to step a bit into the room. He made himself known with a small cough. Immediately Victor turned his head into the direction where Yuuri stood. Their eyes met for some seconds before Yuuri could say goodnight.

As he left for the bedroom he looked over his shoulders again. He saw that Victor had already focused on the two poodles before him. He was wearing a little smile on his lips and a light blush could be seen on his cheeks. He seemed happy for some reason. 

Back in the bedroom Yuuri realized that Vicchan was still with Victor and Makkachin. Normally the little poodle followed him to the bedroom to sleep together in bed. Especially now in the unfamiliar environment Yuuri needed the toy poodle more than ever. What was he supposed to do? 

Should he just walk out there and demand Victor to pass Vicchan over to him so that he could sleep a bit better? He couldn’t do that to his beloved pet and himself. In Yuuri’s mind, there was only one sane solution to the problem. He had to let the door ajar. Through the little gap hopefully the dog would come over to sleep with him in bed. To be honest Yuuri didn’t know whether or not it was a good idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this is it for now. 
> 
> I hoped you guys liked the chapter. I had to shorten the chapter as it got too long. This was supposed to only be the first half but somehow it got longer and longer.   
> It was a lot of fun to finally have Victor in the story as well. I really enjoy writing these two together, especially when I can tease both of them. hehehe
> 
> Over the time I was visiting my family the story reached almost 500 kudos and over 10,000 hits, which is just unreal. I still cannot believe that. Why are there so many of you here? How did that happened?
> 
> I'm sorry. I am just stop rambling and say I love you all. I hope you have a nice day and I am going to keep staring at these numbers with awe.


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